Sevilla 2-1 Atletico Madrid: Hosts capitalise on Simeone´s rotations to ease relegation fears

Sevilla picked up a vital three points in LaLiga’s relegation battle as they defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Diego Simeone made wholesale changes to his Atleti side ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Barcelona on Tuesday, knowing their place in LaLiga’s top four is all but guaranteed.

Sevilla took the lead after 10 minutes from the penalty spot. Juan Musso got a hand on Akor Adams’ spot-kick after Dani Martinez felled Isaac Romero, but the Atleti goalkeeper could only push the ball into the roof of the net.

The visitors managed to get back on level terms as Javier Bonar nodded in from close range after being picked out by Julio Diaz, but Sevilla were back ahead on the stroke of half-time as Nemanja Gudelj powered a header past Musso from Ruben Vargas’ cross.

Sevilla went close to adding a third after a nervy start to the second half, but Romero’s driven effort struck the base of the left post before a deflected effort from Vargas hit the side-netting.

Although Simeone brought on Ademola Lookman, the Atleti boss left the likes of Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Marcos Llorente on the bench as Sevilla almost cruised to a much-needed victory in the end.

23 – Today’s starting XI against Sevilla, averaging 23 years and 289 days, is Atlético Madrid’s youngest ever in a @LaLigaEN match under Diego Pablo Simeone.

Fresh. pic.twitter.com/9QN2wbKlPR

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 11, 2026

Data Debrief: Simeone’s boys taught a lesson

The average age of Atleti’s starting line-up was 23 years and 289 days, their youngest-ever starting 11 under Simeone in the Spanish top-flight, and it showed.

Sevilla produced 1.78 expected goals from 11 shots to Atleti’s 0.76 from 13 attempts, with the visitors struggling to create clear-cut chances in the second half.

However, nothing can be taken away from Sevilla’s performance, and Romero’s in particular. He recorded the most shots (three), chances created (three), touches in the box (nine) and interceptions (three) in an all-round performance for the home side.