Barrios Secures Last-Minute Victory as Atletico Overcomes Sevilla, Keeping Slim Title Dreams Afloat

Another wave of disappointment washed over the supporters at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan as Sevilla squandered a lead yet again, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid despite holding the advantage until the dying minutes. This loss marks the second consecutive week that Sevilla fell from a winning position, with Atletico snatching an injury-time winner to snap their own winless streak, which extended to six matches.

Heading into this fixture, Sevilla had not won in five consecutive home league matches – their worst streak in this competition since an eight-game run which concluded in February 2024, when they managed to edge past Atletico with a 1-0 victory.

The early signs suggested a potential reversal of fortune for Sevilla, as just seven minutes into the match, a clever exchange on the left between Ruben Vargas and Adria Pedrosa resulted in a delivered ball into the box. Although the cross was cleared, it fell to Lucien Agoume, who unleashed a powerful shot into the top-right corner, beating Jan Oblak and marking his first goal of the 2024/25 season.

Not content with just the one goal, Sevilla nearly doubled their lead shortly after, but Oblak was quick to react, deflecting a dangerous pass intended for Agoume by Chidera Ejuke, just as the latter was riding the high of his previous strike.

However, the turning point came in the 23rd minute when Atletico were awarded a penalty after Conor Gallagher was brought down by Loic Bade while sprinting towards goal following a slick combination. Julian Alvarez confidently converted, directing his shot into the bottom-right corner, leaving Orjan Nyland trailing in the opposite direction.

Following the equaliser, Atletico appeared invigorated, though they were nearly caught out. Towards the half-hour mark, Akor Adams received a brilliant pass inside the box and was stopped in his tracks by Oblak, but there were shouts for a penalty after contact during the follow-through sent the Sevilla player tumbling.

Despite this, the first half concluded with a rather stale affair until the second period kicked off, where Nyland was called into action once more. Giuliano Simeone made a clever run that split the defence, firing a shot on goal, but Nyland was alert, tipping the effort over for a corner.

Coming off the back of a disappointing loss in last week’s Seville derby, the hosts maintained an equal level of intensity as the clock ticked past the hour mark. Yet, their finesse in front of goal was severely lacking. Meanwhile, Atletico’s Rodrigo Riquelme began to exude influence in the closing stages, although Kike Salas did well to keep him under wraps, outmuscling him in one aerial challenge and later blocking a shot at close range.

As the game neared its conclusion, Bade came agonisingly close with a header from a corner, missing by mere inches. This miss turned out to be pivotal, as in the third minute of six additional minutes, a brilliant solo effort from Pablo Barrios found the back of the net with a low shot past Nyland.

Having let victory slip away once more after taking an early lead, Sevilla now face a struggle to finish in the top half of the table. Their hopes for European qualification hang by a thread, while Atletico, with their title ambitions dimmed in recent weeks, seized the opportunity presented by leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid faltering earlier in the weekend. Simeone’s squad now finds themselves seven points behind the top spot with eight matches left in the season.