Sevilla – Atlético Madrid: Simeone’s positional deception dismantles Sevilla’s defensive references (1–3)

Atlético de Madrid produced one of their most tactically distinctive performances under Diego Simeone, using Alex Baena and Kang-in Lee as false reference points to manipulate Sevilla’s defensive structure and create space for their fastest attackers. Luis García Plaza’s side struggled to deal with the constant changes of position, and Atlético repeatedly exposed the spaces created when Sevilla’s defenders followed players away from their zones.

Tactical analysis and match report by Sebastián Parreño.

A different Atlético under Simeone

This Atlético de Madrid looked significantly different from the team traditionally associated with Diego Simeone. The change was particularly visible in the role of Alex Baena.

On paper, Baena operated as Atlético's centre forward when the team was without the ball. However, once Atlético recovered possession, he was rarely positioned as a conventional striker. Instead, he repeatedly dropped into the midfield and attacking midfield zones, often leaving players such as Kang-in Lee, Giuliano Simeone, Lookman and even Grimaldo positioned further forward.

The starting structure against Sevilla contained another familiar element: Atlético built from the back with three defenders. David Hancko occupied the left side of the defensive line, Marc Pubill played centrally, and Marcos Llorente completed the back three from the right.

Yet the attacking movements ahead of them represented a significant departure from the traditional image of Simeone’s Atlético.

Grimaldo pushed very high on the left, while Giuliano Simeone provided width on the opposite flank. Atlético therefore stretched Sevilla horizontally, but their most important movements occurred in the central areas.

The . . .