Round Two Match of the Week: Sevilla vs Atlético Madrid
Barcelona and Real Madrid.
They’re two of the biggest clubs in world football and, deservedly, steal most of the headlines. However, with a record-setting five Spanish clubs qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, this could be the most competitive La Liga season in a long time.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid have their home openers this weekend, but the most intriguing match of round two lies further to the south in Andalucia, where Sevilla hosts Atlético Madrid.
Atlético Madrid Player to Watch: Jackson Martinez
The 28-year-old Colombian joined Atlético Madrid from Porto this summer and is now expected to take his place in a long line of standout strikers in Diego Simeone’s system: Sergio Aguero, Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa, and last season, Mario Mandžukić. Martinez didn’t offer much last week and, in fact, was subbed off in the 59th minute. It took an Antoine Griezmann free kick to beat newly promoted Las Palmas.
While it’s true that Simeone’s side has more scoring options now, if Atlético Madrid are really going to challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid for the league title, they’re going to need an effective and efficient Jackson Martinez.
Sevilla Player to Watch: Fernando Llorente
Sevillistas he venido con mucha ilusión y dispuesto a darlo todo por este club. ¡Gracias por vuestra gran acogida! pic.twitter.com/vPQNNFUMBN
— fernando llorente (@llorentefer19) August 27, 2015
Ok. Llorente only joined from Juventus this week and there’s no guarantee that he’ll even get on the pitch Sunday afternoon. However, Llorente is just the latest example of the tremendous work being done by Sevilla’s Director of Football, Ramon “Monchi” Rodriguez Verdejo.
Sevilla has won the last two UEFA Europa League titles and is now the only club to have won the Europa League four times. That success has come despite the fact that, in recent seasons, Sevilla has been forced to sell players such as Álvaro Negredo, Jesús Navas, Ivan Rakitić, and, this summer, Aleix Vidal, Stephane M’Bia and Carlos Bacca.
All “Monchi” did this summer was go out and get Adil Rami to help the defense, midfielders Yevhen Konoplyanka, Steven N’Zonzi, Gaël Kakuta, Michael Krohn-Dehli, forward Ciro Immobile (on loan from Borussia Dortmund), and now, Fernando Llorente. “Monchi” is a marvel.
Team Under the Most Pressure: Sevilla
The downside of constant roster turnover is that it can take a while for all of the new players to gel as a unit. Perhaps that’s the reason why Sevilla kicked off its 2015-2016 La Liga campaign with an incredibly dull 0-0 draw away at Malaga. It may be very early in the season, but Sevilla is expected to finish in the top four. Unai Emery’s team needs at least a point, and preferably three, this weekend. Of course, getting a win against Atlético Madrid won’t be easy. For Sevilla, being at home in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium in front of a loud crowd, can only help.
However, you won’t be able to blame Sevilla’s fans if they seem a bit uneasy. Their bitter, cross-town rivals, Real Betis are back in the top division. If Sevilla were to lose at home and Betis were to, somehow, pull off a shock at Real Madrid this weekend, supporters of Los Rojiblancos will never hear the end of it.