Atlético Madrid put its off-field problems aside on Saturday, beating Sevilla 3-1 in La Liga.
Argentina forward Julián Álvarez was not even on the bench as Atlético Madrid secured a comfortable victory. Atlético insisted on Thursday that Álvarez would not be sold to Barcelona, but the Argentine star did not train with his teammates for most of the week.
Álvarez was also left out of Atlético’s squad for the opening match of the Spanish league season and was booed by the club’s supporters during Sunday’s game after entering as a substitute.
Atlético Madrid takes control before halftime
In the striker’s absence, Álex Baena scored twice and Ademola Lookman added another goal as Atlético surged to a 3-0 lead by halftime.
Coach Diego Simeone praised Baena, saying he has been a decisive player.
“El año pasado creo que arrancó en un muy buen nivel, donde obviamente podíamos ponerlo en cualquier lado y creo que sin ninguna duda la confianza, la seguridad, la alegría, lo emocional del Mundial le ha venido muy bien”, reconoció.
Simeone also praised his players for responding despite not having a “delanter delatero”.
“Sobre todo el compromiso, sobre todo la identidad de lo que somos y de lo que queremos. Estuvimos hablando bastante después del entrenamiento del viernes y previo al partido lo mismo”, indicó.
“Sabemos dónde están los objetivos, dónde están los partidos importantes y por suerte tuvimos unos creo que 60 minutos muy buenos donde cada jugada en transición generaba vértigo y peligro”,
It was Sevilla’s first defeat of the season.
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Source: apnews.com
