A close start to the game
The match felt heavy with meaning for Quique Sánchez Flores. It seemed almost impossible to ignore the families who had lost loved ones on the road to Madrid. Yet the kickoff went ahead, the crowd filling the stadium despite the quiet gravity that hung over Sevilla and the league. Seville pressed with discipline, while Atleti sought to impose control, trading chances in a tense opening spell that hinted at the drama to come.
Sevilla lined up with a compact defense and Nyland guarding the goal. Simeone trusted Nahuel and Saúl in midfield ahead of Barrios and Llorente. Both sides tested each other, with Sevilla directing most of the play through Nyland’s long build-ups while Atletico looked to exploit space on the wings. The early exchanges were tight; neither team gave much away in the opening minutes, and the balance of power shifted slowly as the game settled into a battle of nerve and precision.
Sevilla showed a willingness to take risks at moments, but the best attacking moments for Atletico came from Samu Lino and Saúl linking up on the left. The winger burst forward to pressure the channels, while Atleti pressed with intensity, trying to force errors from Sevilla’s lines and create openings that could unlock the compact defense in front of Nyland.
Penalty missed by Griezmann
A pivotal moment emerged on the far flank when Nahuel disrupted the rhythm by winning a foul and earning a high-stakes penalty. The Brazilian defender’s challenge left a mark, and Griezmann stepped up, his aim true but his execution betrayed him as he slipped. The miss delayed Atleti’s breakthrough, casting a moment of doubt over the visitors while lifting Sevilla in a contrasting surge of belief before halftime.
Griezmann’s miss did little to dampen his historic status with Atlético, yet the moment underscored the fine margins that define knockout football. The second half would demand a different kind of resolve. After the interval, Simeone acted decisively by reshaping the attack. He pulled back Antoine and Morata, inserting Correa and Memphis Depay to inject pace, movement, and a new dimension into the forward line. The substitutions reconfigured the balance and reawakened Atleti’s threat with fresh energy and ideas.
The tactical shift paid off. Depay found space to operate behind the Sevilla line, while Correa offered a direct threat through the middle. The changes sharpened Atlético’s pressing and gave them clearer routes to goal, tipping the balance toward a tighter, more purposeful second half. The crowd sensed a turning point as Atlético began to control more sustained possession and push Sevilla deeper into their own half.
‘Cholo’ Simeone’s winning changes
Football often comes down to moments, and this match proved that truth again. Sizeable expectations sit on the shoulders of players who want to prove themselves in big Cup nights. Griezmann did everything possible to recover his earlier miscue, but the decisive work came from the bench. Simeone’s decision to introduce Correa and Memphis infused the attack with urgency and clever movement, offering intelligent interchanges that unsettled Sevilla’s defense.
Griezmann did find a way forward near the hour, collecting a Morata feed and finishing with composure, only to be ruled offside. That decision briefly reignited debate about the balance of risk and opportunity in the tactical plan. Simeone reacted by pulling back Morata and Antoine and deploying Correa and Memphis to stretch Sevilla’s lines. Marcao had already received a warning, and Atlético pushed forward with renewed intent.
With Llorente and Barrios entering the fray as part of Plan B, Atlético gained firm control of the tempo. The home side began to find gaps through midfields and pockets of space behind Sevilla’s pressing unit. The newly minted rhythm allowed Depay to strike the opening goal, a moment that breathed life into the Metropolitano and left Sevilla chasing the game in the final stages. The Atleti defense also tightened, cutting off final passes and denying Sevilla a clear path to the goal in the closing periods.
As the clock wound down, the tension remained palpable. A late moment of drama threatened to tilt the result with a disputed penalty shout that Gil Manzano reviewed via VAR, sparing Atlético on that occasion. Sevilla pressed for parity, but the visitors held firm. The match finished with Atlético advancing, their resilience and tactical flexibility proving decisive in a fiercely contested quarterfinal.
Sevilla had their moments and showed bravery in the face of adversity, but the night belonged to Atlético and a plan that found its mark when it mattered most. The Metropolitano erupted as Depay’s late momentum transformed the tie into a narrative of persistence, a reminder that cup football rewards those who adapt under pressure.
Data sheet:
1 – Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina; Llorente; Witsel; Giménez; Hermoso; Lino; De Paul; Koke; Saúl; Griezmann; Morata; Correa; Memphis.
0 – Seville: Nyland; Navas; Nianzou; Sergio Ramos; Marcao; Pedrosa; Sow; Soumaré; Oliver Torres; Ocampos; Lamela.
Aim: 1-0, 78 min: Memphis.
Judge: Gil Manzano. Yellow cards shown to Giménez, Hermoso, Koke, Oliver Torres, Sergio Ramos, Pedrosa, Lamela, Acuña.
Events: The Copa del Rey quarter-final was played before 60,169 spectators at the Metropolitano.