Atlético finishes by the minimum with Sevilla and completes the semifinals

A self-corrected penalty by Gil Manzano in the last play of stoppage time raised Sevilla's anger in a packed Metropolitano (1-0)

MADRID, 25 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Atlético de Madrid qualified this Thursday for the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey thanks to their 1-0 victory against Sevilla FC, following a single-match tie, played in the Colchonero fiefdom and resolved by a goal from Memphis Depay , which may not have been final since referee Jesús Gil Manzano self-corrected a penalty in favor of the Sevillistas in the last play of injury time.

Cívitas Metropolitano vibrated once again with its team in the 'k.o.' tournament, just a week after eliminating Real Madrid with extra time. But the new mission in his fiefdom was tough to crack, facing a Sevilla team that had pinned its hopes on this Cup due to its premature goodbye to the Champions League and, above all, its poor league image.

The first 20 minutes showed that it was going to be a tough game, with Atlético having gotten closer only thanks to Samu Lino from the left lane. Álvaro Morata had a timid header from his center, without danger for goalkeeper Orjan Nyland. Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos for Sevilla generated a buzz from set pieces.

In one of those plays, the former Real Madrid player gave the ball inside the area to his teammate Isaac Romero, whose left foot hit an opponent and went into a corner. Beyond that and the fruitless attacks of Rodrigo De Paul who fell to the right wing, neither Colchoneros nor Sevillistas were successful in the last meters of each opposing field.

The matter could have changed drastically in the 25th minute, when Marcao Do Nascimento tripped Nahuel Molina in his attempt to hit the ball while the Argentine winger sneaked into the area from his right wing. Referee Gil Manzano without hesitation declared a penalty that was later wasted by Antoine Griezmann, due to an inopportune slip on his kick.

That shot went through the roof, but the stadium cheered on the '7' by chanting his name. Sevilla responded through Adrià Pedrosa, in a sprint down the left to reach the baseline, which the local defense skillfully resolved. In a subsequent counterattack, Saúl Ñíguez got a yellow card from Sergio Ramos due to a foul in the crown of the area, which De Paul then missed between the three sticks.

The first half practically disappeared there, since the discount was insubstantial. After the break, a restart of mutual 'testing' was broken in the 53rd minute, thanks to a semi-volley from Griezmann that went over the crossbar, following a lofted pass from De Paul in a combination with Molina.

Given the passivity of the duel, Diego Pablo Simeone moved pieces from his bench. He retired Molina and introduced Marcos Llorente to give fresh air to a right wing without bite. And that seemed to serve as an incentive for the rest of the team, including a goal from Griezmann in the 60th minute, but which did not get on the scoreboard due to a prior offside by Morata.

'Grizi' had taken a left-footed volley out of his hat, after the extension of the header made by his teammate. Although everything was invalidated, it gave the '7' confidence that he got that play right and that is why he tried it immediately from the edge of the area, with another low left foot shot that did not hit the goal.

Quique Sánchez Flores' pupils, timid in attack, nevertheless enjoyed a good opportunity with a right-footed volley executed by central defender Marcao, in a rise upwards when few expected it. Sevilla's face had changed little in the minutes that Ivan Rakitic had been on the pitch, replacing Óliver Torres.

Despite this, Sánchez Flores resisted the changes and it was the rival coach who once again stirred up the hornet's nest. 'Cholo' Simeone suddenly removed his attacking duo, bringing on Ángel Correa and Memphis Depay. Just two minutes after taking the field, when he was still running the 68th minute, Axel Witsel hit a deep pass into the Memphis race; The latter, unmarked behind the central defenders, controlled and quickly shot to beat Nyland, although the goal was not worth it either.

The Dutchman had started his career offside, with the option of claiming himself alongside a very active Correa. Erik Lamela had a similar situation in the front team, replacing a willing but failing Issac Romero. However, the Argentine received a yellow card as soon as he entered and went off, unfortunately for Sevilla who paid dearly for it.

As a result of a mismatch between the lines, with those changes still settling, De Paul created an attack on the right side with Llorente. The ball ended up at the feet of Correa, who dribbled past Marcao and made a center-shot at ground level that Memphis, infiltrated between the Sevilla defense, subtly deflected into the back of the net with his left-footed and foreshortened boot.

The visiting team burned the boats by incorporating Rafa Mir, whose importance in the aerial game was quickly noticed. In a corner, a combing ball at the near post almost served up the equalizer for Ramos, who was unbalanced with a point-blank shot inside Jan Oblak's small area.

There were still five minutes left in regulation time and the game became a road race, where Memphis stood out. First he gave a low pass to Lino, who hit a left foot shot that was well repelled by Nyland with his foot, and then the 'tulip' striker himself shot with his right foot in the area and on the turn, although the ball went away.

In the five minutes of extra time, Sánchez Flores' team looked hard for an equalizer and in the very last shot they came close to their big chance. Barrios lost the ball in a bad backward control, Lamela snatched it from him, stepped into the area and was apparently blocked by the Colchonero '24'.

But the VAR, so criticized these weeks, entered the fray again because Gil Manzano undid his own decision while the entire Metropolitano screamed to condition the referee's decision. Without time for more, a definitive victory for Atleti and a ticket to the semi-finals that are already exciting among the red-and-white parish.

--RESULT: ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 1 - SEVILLA, 0 (0-0, at half-time).

ATLÉTICO DE MADRID: Oblak; Molina (Llorente, min.56), Giménez, Witsel, Hermoso, Lino; Koke, De Paul, Saúl (Barrios, min.56); Griezmann (Correa, min.66) and Morata (Memphis, min.66).

SEVILLE: Nyland; Navas (Juanlu, min.69), Marcao, Ramos, Nianzou, Pedrosa (Acuña, min.83); Soumare, Horses (Mir, min.83), Oliver (Rakitic, min.51); Isaac (Lamela, min.70) and Ocampos.

1-0, min.79: Memphis.

--REFEREE: Gil Manzano (C.Extremeño). He yellow carded Giménez (min.63), Hermoso (min.71) and Koke (min.75) at Atlético de Madrid, and Óliver (min.33), Ramos (min.39), Pedrosa (min. 62), Lamela (min.73), Rakitic (min.82) and Mir (90 8) in Sevilla.

--STADIUM: Cívitas Metropolitano, 60,169 spectators.

--INCIDENTS: In the run-up, a minute of silence was observed for the death of three Sevilla fans in a traffic accident, when they were traveling to Madrid to watch this match.