Atletico Madrid secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Sevilla on Sunday, ending their six-match winless streak across all competitions and keeping their hopes alive in the LaLiga title race.
Pablo Barrios’ last-minute goal proved to be the difference as Atletico claimed all three points and closed the gap to the top two teams in the standings. The win came at a crucial time, following results from the previous day that saw leaders Barcelona held to a draw by Real Betis and Real Madrid stunned by Valencia, allowing Atletico to capitalize on the slip-ups of their rivals.
With the victory, Diego Simeone’s side now sit seven points behind Barcelona, and their triumph over Sevilla also brought an end to a frustrating run of results that had seen them struggle in recent weeks.
Sevilla took the lead in the seventh minute when Lucien Agoume scored a brilliant goal from outside the box, capping off a fast and efficient counter-attack orchestrated by Garcia Pimienta’s men.
Atletico had a chance to equalize just before the half-hour mark when Sevilla captain Loic Balde fouled Conor Gallagher inside the penalty area. Julian Alvarez took responsibility for the penalty, calmly sending goalkeeper Orjan Nyland the wrong way to notch his 12th LaLiga goal of the season.
The second half saw few clear-cut chances for either side, though Sevilla’s Nemanja Gudelj came close, and Alvarez tested Nyland with another effort. But it was Barrios who stole the show in the dying moments. In the second minute of stoppage time, the young midfielder made a powerful driving run from deep, before curling a left-footed shot into the bottom-left corner to secure the dramatic victory for Atletico.
