Atletico Madrid crushed Sevilla 6-1 on Saturday to move third in La Liga as Diego Simeone celebrated setting a new milestone as a coach.
Memphis Depay struck twice for the hosts, with Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco adding to the lead and Alvaro Morata adding a brace in a rout which affirmed Atletico’s vast improvement in 2023.
Argentine coach Simeone overtook the late Luis Aragones as the coach in charge of Atletico for the most games, with this his 613th at the helm of the Rojiblancos after taking charge in 2011.
Simeone has helped Atletico win La Liga twice and the Copa del Rey once, establishing them as a team capable of battling with giants Real Madrid and Barcelona for domestic honours and two Europa Leagues.
His team have misfired this season, suffering a group stage exit in Europe and not joining the title race, but after the World Cup, they have found their groove.
Having trailed Real Sociedad since November, they capitalised on the Basque side’s draw on Friday against Cadiz to go a point above them and claim third place.
Griezmann sprinted over to celebrate his goal with Simeone on the touchline and said he had hoped for a performance of this calibre.
“What is an important day for him is an essential day for me,” Griezmann told Movistar.
“I wanted this game to be esoteric for him and the fans because we deserve it.
“Since the World Cup, we have been in an incredibly dynamic (and may it) continue like this.”
The thrashing left Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla 16th, a point above the relegation zone, and they could be sucked into it on Sunday.
“We played very badly,” Sevilla defender Marcos Acuna told Movistar
“It goes beyond all limits. We played very badly, so we’ve been beaten.”
Simeone handed Depay his first start since his January switch from Barcelona, and the Dutchman should have blasted Atletico ahead early on.
