An extremely youthful Atlético Madrid were defeated 2-1 by a Sevilla side desperate for a win on Saturday night.
A team made up of second, third and fourth string players struggled to make any inroads in the Andalucian capital, but little will be made of this loss which comes between the two UEFA Champions League quarter-final legs against FC Barcelona.
Here are Into the Calderón’s key takeaways from this one.
The future of Atleti and disappointing regulars
Yes, it was necessary to do given the enormity of the fixtures that sandwich this one. But there was something so fun about seeing that many young players on the pitch for Atlético de Madrid in a league match in April.
Los Rojiblancos started the day with:
- a back four consisting of Javi Boñar (20), Marc Pubill (22), Dani Martínez (21) and Julio Díaz (21);
- a midfield partnership of Rodrigo Mendoza (21) and Obed Vargas (20); and
- Rayane Belaid (20) on the wing.
Javi Morcillo (20) and Jano Monserrate (20) also made appearances off the bench making the average age of all 14 players involved today a staggering 23 years.
Of course this would have been a far better story had they managed to pick up a result. But aside from Sevilla’s plight to climb out of the relegation zone, this was about the only narrative keeping this match from being forever forgotten in the ether of pointless football matches.
We saw Díaz make his debut a few weeks back against Real Oviedo, but we were able to see the full effects of his full-back partner in crime from Atlético Madrileño, Boñar. Out of all of the youngsters, it was no surprise it was he who popped up with a goal; he’s now scored nine in his last two seasons between the first and B teams. So often under Fernando Torres has Boñar scored important goals from right-back, often late in games when his team needed it the most. Judging by his emotional celebration, he’ll always remember his header at the back post at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, but just imagine how special it would have been if it had contributed to at least a point.
Boñar can point half a finger at some of the more “experienced” players in today’s side as for why his goal didn’t count towards a famous victory, with many of the regular first-team fixtures disappointing in Andalucía tonight. It may be a lot to ask of two 24-year-olds to lead a team containing seven players younger than them from a creative point of view, but Thiago Almada and Álex Baena did so little to improve their cases for having more playing time in the games that matter.
To add to those two, Alexander Sørloth looked miles off the pace, appearing to offer nothing when service doesn’t arrive directly at his feet (or head). With quality around him, the Norwegian can bag goals for days, which is in theory why having his former Villarreal teammate Baena on the pitch with him should produce far more bulges between the goalposts. The two never got close to being on the same wavelength today. Even the simple elements of a typical “big man striker” he struggled to show today, unable to hold the ball up against one of the worst defenses in the division.
The good news for those three is that attentions will very quickly turn to Tuesday, and no one will be dwelling on this shite for too long.
There’s nothing retro about VAR
In the latest edition of “LALIGA will do anything but attend to their most problematic issues,“ we had the pleasure of witnessing its first ever “Retro Matchday” this weekend. With an ever-growing revenue chasm morphing the Premier League into its own version of the infamous Superleague, I don’t blame Javier Tebas for thinking outside the box in order to attract more eyes to Spanish football.
However, I’m not sure this Madrid fashion week gimmick was quite the way to go about it.
Firstly, the flagship of this idea is what the players are wearing, yet Atleti sported a kit from the 2022/23 season. I know we’re all getting on, but there’s nothing retro about a kit that Memphis Depay was scoring in three years ago.
The clever ones among those reading this will point out that this was a kit brought out to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the club, inspired by the first ever kit in our history, with the badge to match. However, the Nike tick and a big fat Riyadh Air sticker on the front makes it hard to cast your mind back to the early 1900s. I guess the one positive would be the environmental factor that, instead of manufacturing a new wave of kits, Atleti were able to dig into the back cupboards of the shop to shift a few garments that wouldn’t have otherwise been sold.
If LALIGA really wanted to do this matchday properly, they would have gotten rid of the sickening aspects of modern football: VAR and betting ads. There’s something so ironic about a retro-inspired graphic popping up on the screen with “VAR” on it. Not to mention the QR code that appeared towards the end of the match that allowed viewers to vote for their player of the match.
Hmm yes, I remember those good old days.
Remember when this fixture meant something?
On Dec. 18 2021, I attended this fixture in the beautiful city of Sevilla, and watched on helpless as Lucas Ocampos scored with the last kick of the game to give the hosts a 2-1 win — the same scoreline as tonight. The three points picked up that night took Julen Lopetegui’s side top of the table above Real Madrid, and the feeling among those in the stadium was that of a genuine shot at the league title.
Oh Sevilla, mi arma, what have you become? A win today has barely taken you out of the relegation zone, and the days of challenging in the top echelons of the game feel a long way away. The fall from grace has been sad to see from a neutral’s perspective, especially considering the seven(!) Europa Leagues they have won in the past 20 years.
Gone are the days of Wissam Ben Yedder terrorising LALIGA defenses (and FIFA ultimate teams), Jesús Navas and his never-ending runs down the right flank, Ivan Rakitić pulling strings in midfield and Ocampos being a right dick on the wing.
From a cynical Atleti point of view, it is a reassuring reminder of our ability to have become the only team to cement our place as serious competition for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona over the years, showing what somewhat-stable ownership and coaching can do. As for the ecosystem of Spanish football, it should be a concern that a team who have competed in the UEFA Champions League seven times in the past 10 seasons can be on the brink of such disaster. This isn’t a Tottenham Hotspur story — this is a club in danger of slipping into the unpredictable world of second division football and not having the funds to come back.
Said with lenses that are tinted with the best interest of domestic health in the Spanish game, I guess it’s not the worst thing in the world to let them have three points this time round.
- Juan Musso wearing the captain’s armband shows just how important he is within the culture of the team. His on-field contributions have been remarkable of late, but his presence in the dressing room — one of the main reasons his initial loan was made permanent — bestows a hierarchy upon him that only a select few have. Given the starting lineup, someone new had to be today’s captain, but instead of going for the man who has played the most times (Alexander Sørloth), it was decided that Musso would be the leader of the pack.
- With Diego Simeone suspended, it was the return of Nélson Vivas to the forefront of the touchline today. He certainly looks the part, but each time the camera focused in on the Argentine, he wore an exasperated expression on his face, especially in the frantic first half. He’ll never be El Cholo (no one will be), but the seemingly lack of instructions given out to the players was something unusual to see from an Atleti manager point of view.
- On the contrary, Sevilla’s Luís García Plaza would give Simeone a run for his money for the most animated LALIGA manager. My word, he’s a nutter.
