Alvarez, Almada and Griezmann seal Atletico 3-0 victory over Sevilla
MADRID :Julian Alvarez, Thiago Almada and Antoine Griezmann found the net in the second half as Atletico Madrid cruised to a 3-0 home victory over Sevilla on Saturday, stretching their unbeaten LaLiga run to 10 matches.
The win keeps Atletico fourth in the standings on 22 points, level with third-placed Barcelona who have a game in hand. Real Madrid top the table with 27 points ahead of hosting Valencia later on Saturday, while Villarreal sit second on 23 points following their earlier 4-0 demolition of Rayo Vallecano.
For Sevilla, the misery continues with a third consecutive defeat leaving them languishing in 11th place on just 13 points.
Following a dour first half, Atletico woke up after the break with Alvarez opening the scoring from the penalty spot in the 64th minute following a foul inside the box by substitute Tanguy Nianzou on Jose Maria Gimenez.
Almada tapped in the second in the 77th minute following a great run from the right by Giuliano Simeone. Griezmann then scored his 200th LaLiga goal in the 90th minute.
"I'm proud because it was a very good teamwork today. We've kept another clean sheet for a third consecutive match, which is very important for us. Defending well has always been a big part of our identity. We have to keep this up," captain Koke told DAZN.
Atletico dominated from kickoff but goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos made a string of saves to keep the visiting side in the game, with Nico Gonzalez hitting the post with a volley in the 37th minute.
The breakthrough came in the 64th minute when Alvarez coolly converted a penalty that was awarded following a VAR review of Tanguy Nianzou's clumsy challenge on Gimenez in the box.
Sevilla responded with urgency but substitute Nemanja Gudelj's long-range strike forced Oblak to make a spectacular save in the 73rd minute.
Atletico extended their lead in the 77th minute when Simeone capitalised on a defensive error to set up Almada, who slotted home from inside the box.
Griezmann missed a golden opportunity in the 83rd minute, firing over the bar in a one-on-one situation, but the Frenchman redeemed himself in the 90th minute.
Assisted by Almada, Griezmann fired a low strike from just inside the box to become the 11th player to score 200 LaLiga goals, sealing the three points for Diego Simeone’s side.
