Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Atletico Madrid fired the first title warning of the new Liga season as they showed the two sides of their game to crush Sevilla 3-0 away from home Sunday night.
Much the better attacking side in the first half, Atleti had already gone close before Koke swept home 10 minutes before the break after Antoine Griezmann did well to hold the ball up. The second half was all Sevilla as Atleti sat back and invited pressure, with Gabi scoring on the counter late on and Jackson Martinez scoring his first for the club soon after.
Here are all the winners and losers from the game at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
Winner: Gabi
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Atletico captain Gabi had his detractors last season after his performance levels dropped, but the early days of this season's Liga have been much more positive.
The central midfield man was all over Sevilla in the first half, winning the ball centrally a number of times, pushing on into the further reaches of the middle third and setting attacks away down the right channel.
After the break, he defended superbly well in front of the defence in the right channel and even broke forward to score the deflected second Atleti goal and seal the win.
Loser: Fernando Llorente
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Having signed from Juventus, Fernando Llorente was thrown straight into the starting XI for Sevilla but failed to lead the line in the way he would have wanted.
Llorente was notably short of sharpness and lacked the agility or movement inside the box that he needed to evade such a stubborn and resolute defence. The striker's touch wasn't particularly good, and he didn't make the most of a couple of chances that fell his way in the six-yard box.
His sharpness should pick up after more game time, but he didn't fit the way Sevilla tried to attack for the most part.
Winners: Diego Godin and Josema Gimenez
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On the flip side of Sevilla's lack of ability to break down the Atleti attack was the monstrously consistent performances of Diego Godin and Josema Gimenez.
The Uruguayan duo managed to repel everything between them both on the ground and in the air. Even on the odd occasion when one missed the flight of the ball—a mistimed overhead clearance from Godin, for example—the other was on hand to cover and clear behind.
Both reacted well to make blocks and get a foot in while Sevilla dominated play in the second half, and it's two clean sheets from two for Atleti as a result.
Loser: Beto
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Sevilla have started the season with their more experienced option in goalkeeper Beto, but he surely has to be a contender to come out of the team soon with the talented youngster Sergio Rico available—and even called up to the Spain squad.
Beto has some talent, of course, but he has not been at the height of his form at the start of this season—flapping and making a mess more than once last week despite a clean sheet at Malaga. He didn't do enough against Atletico to stop two of the goals, even though he cannot be blamed at all for Gabi's deflected effort.
His positioning and reach for Jackson's strike weren't the best, nor were his reactions to rush out and narrow the angle for Koke's effort.
Winner: Diego Simeone's First Big Task
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As for manager Diego Simeone, he must be delighted. The win over Sevilla shows his side's quality at both ends and knocks back a top-four rival early in the season.
The disparity between the teams was notable in their defensive work in particular, and the options and variation available to Simeone mean they must be considered a big threat for this season's Liga title.
Simeone got his tactics perfectly right for the game, backed his team at half-time to defend the lead they had worked hard to achieve and was rewarded with another three points and clean sheet.
