Seven years later, Atletico Madrid is again within the Copa del Rey semifinals.
Memphis Depay scored within the second half and video evaluation referred to as again a penalty for Sevilla in stoppage time as Atletico held on for a 1-0 victory Thursday to achieve the final 4 for the primary time since 2017.
Atletico joins Athletic Bilbao, Mallorca and Real Sociedad within the semifinals. The matchups, which shall be performed on home-and-away sequence, shall be decided on Friday.
“We expected a tight match like this, with few scoring chances, but in the end we found a way to break through and get the victory, which is the only thing that matters,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak said. “Hopefully we can win this Copa title again after so many years.”
Sevilla thought it had a chance to send the match into extra time when Érik Lamela was brought down inside the area by Pablo Barrios five minutes into stoppage time, but the referee was called by video review and eventually determined there was no foul.
“It was a tough match, a lot of things happened,” Sevilla defender Marcao said. “If I say what I believe right here, I’ll be suspended for 2 or three months.”
The loss dealt one other blow to Sevilla, which was coming off a 5-1 defeat to Girona within the Spanish league, the place it sits simply exterior the relegation zone. It has misplaced eight of its final 11 matches in all competitions.
Sevilla coach Quique Sánchez Flores mentioned the match should not have been performed after three Sevilla followers died in a automobile accident on their method to Madrid earlier Thursday. The coach appeared within the post-match news convention however mentioned he wouldn’t speak concerning the match, solely ship his condolences.
“We lost on a day in which we are mourning the loss of these fans who were coming to the match,” he said. “I don’t feel like making any analysis about the game.”
Atletico prolonged its unbeaten run at dwelling to 26 matches, since a 1-0 loss to Barcelona final January.
Diego Simeone’s crew, in search of its first Copa title since 2013, eradicated defending champion Real Madrid within the spherical of 16 of the Copa this season. It was ousted by the rival within the quarterfinals final yr.
Depay got here off the bench within the 66th and scored the winner within the 79th after a pleasant transfer by Ángel Correa to get previous a defender and feed the ball to his teammate inside the realm. Correa had additionally entered the match within the 66th, changing Antoine Griezmann.
Griezmann, who not too long ago turned Atletico’s all-time main scorer, had missed a Twenty sixth-minute penalty kick when he slipped and despatched his shot from the spot approach over the crossbar. The France worldwide additionally had a objective disallowed for offside within the sixtieth. Depay had a objective referred to as again for offside within the 68th.
Veteran Sevilla defender Sergio Ramos had a transparent probability to equalize within the eighty fifth however missed the open internet from shut vary after a tough cross from the proper aspect. The former Real Madrid participant, who was usually jeered by the Atletico followers on the Metropolitano, additionally had an opportunity with a header early in stoppage time.
Sevilla has been in an prolonged stoop, with one victory in its final 15 Spanish league matches. It had additionally been eradicated within the Copa quarterfinals final season, shedding to eventual runner-up Osasuna.
On Wednesday, Athletic Bilbao eradicated Barcelona 4-2 in additional time to make it to the Copa semifinals, whereas Spanish league chief Girona misplaced 3-2 to Mallorca.
On Tuesday, Real Sociedad defeated Celta Vigo 2-1 to achieve the final 4 for the primary time since profitable the competitors 4 seasons in the past.
The two-legged semifinals shall be performed in February. There have been single-elimination video games till now.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
