Seville: Atletico Madrid further dropped points after they were beaten by 0-1 by Sevilla in the La Liga, thanks to Marcos Acuna. With this win, Sevilla handed a lifeline to title challengers Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The La Liga title race became more interesting with all the top three teams looking to seize the trophy. Atletico Madrid’s point loss meant Barcelona can close in the points gap with them when they face Real Valladolid at home.
Real Madrid defeated Eibar 2-0, and are just three points behind league leaders Atletico with both teams having played 29 matches each. The upcoming El Clasico would be a lot more than just the two greatest rivals facing each other but will further shape the title race.
Atletico is also yet to play the second leg against Barcelona, which will also be another very decisive match. They barely won the first leg in Camp Nou, with just a goal. Marcos Acuna’s goal gave a chance to Sevilla to qualify for UEFA Champions League as well as they sit at a fourth position at the table.
Atletico captain Koke criticised the referee for not reviewing Acuna’s goal. “It was a clear handball for the goal and there was another handball (by Diego Carlos) which should have been a second yellow card,” he said.
“We have VAR which has to be there to help out. Today wasn’t our day. On other days it has favoured us, today it didn’t go our way. This is a tough defeat but we tried everything. We struggled in the first half but in the second we had chances.”
