In the early morning of December 19, Beijing time, the 18th round of la Liga this season ushered in a focus battle, Atletico Madrid was killed by Sevilla 1-2 away, Simeone led the team to suffer 3 consecutive defeats in La Liga for the first time since taking office, and left the stadium directly in blackface after the game. In addition, after atletico's loss, they are 13 points behind the leaders Real Madrid, and the defense of the title is basically hopeless.
As the defending champions, Atletico Madrid lost to Mallorca and Real Madrid in the last two consecutive rounds, suffered two consecutive defeats, stayed at 29 points, continued to rank fourth, and was thrown off by the leader Real Madrid by 13 points in the first round of the junior round, and the defending situation was very grim.
In this round, Atletico Madrid played away to title rival sevilla, who accumulated 34 points in 16 rounds, ranking second, and 8 points behind the leader Real Madrid in the first round of the less round, and is currently the most promising team to catch up with Real Madrid.
The last time Atletico won La Liga was in the 2017-2018 season, when they beat Sevilla 5-2.
In the opening 6th minute, Rakitic blasted an unsolvable world wave from outside the box, Oblak could not save, and Sevilla made a fantastic start 1-0.
The match was Rakitic's 368th appearance in La Liga, scoring 56 goals, making him the second croatian player in the history of La Liga top scorers, behind Davao Souk, who scored 113 goals.
In the 32nd minute, Lemar drove a corner kick in front of goal and Felipe nodded the ball to help Atletico equalize 1-1. This goal has allowed Atletico to continue to score all goals in all competitions this season by foreign players, and it is also the only team in La Liga this season that has not scored from Spanish players.
In the second half, the two teams continued to fight wildly. In the 53rd minute, Rakitic's shot hit the side-netting. In the 78th minute, Carrasco followed up with a shot that deflected off goal. In the 81st minute, João Felix's shot from inside the box was blocked. In the 87th minute, Ocampos scored a goal to help Sevilla complete a 2-1 run.
This loss is the first time since the arrival of manager Simeone that Atletico have suffered three consecutive defeats in La Liga, setting a 10-year record of humiliation. In addition, Atletico also sent Sevilla's last 10 La Liga home record to 9 wins and 1 draw, and it is also the second longest home game in Sevilla La Liga under Lopetegui to be unbeaten.
Atletico's points remained at 29 points, 13 points behind the leaders Real Madrid, and the defense of the title was basically hopeless. Winning Sevilla, with 37 points, continues to rank second, five points away from Real Madrid, and there is still hope for the title.