0-4 comfortable victory in a match that the «colchoneros» quickly regained their way
Atlético de Madrid defeated Elche CF 0-4 on Wednesday, with a double from Norwegian forward Alexander Sorloth, and qualified for the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE thanks to a match that the «colchoneros» practically dominated from the beginning.
The home team started at the Martínez Valero Stadium with eleven changes from the previous match, which ended in a 1-0 victory against Real Zaragoza in LaLiga Hypermotion matchday 22; Only defenders José Salinas and Pedro Bigas and forward Nico Fernández were included in the plans of their coach Eder Sarabia.
And although two new attacks hinted at a good start for Elche, it was their rivals who scored first in the 8th minute, Marcos Llorente received a pass on the run from the right wing and quickly crossed to the area where Bigas failed to clear and Alexander Sorloth. He beat Bambo Diaby to tame the ball and score with his right foot from close range.
With the opponent terrified, Atlético advanced to make it 0-2 from a corner kick taken with the right foot by Rodrigo Riquelme from a skewed angle, with a pass to Samu Lino and an immediate assist to Ángel Correa; but the right back’s shot was rejected by Elche’s goalkeeper Miguel San Román, who had played hours earlier due to his «colchonero» baggage.
Elche’s response in the 14th minute was a header from Elbasan Rashani in another corner kick, which was finally caught by Juan Musso after the ball hit Axel Witsel. But other than that, Diego Pablo Simeone’s men had no problems and, to make matters worse, they extended their lead after half an hour with a clear penalty by Diaby on Lino.
Sorloth took charge and scored with a powerful left-footed shot to the center of the goal, fooling San Román. From then until halftime, except for a poor shot from Gerard Hernández from the edge of the box, Musso had no work to do and Atlético wasted time without even bothering the opposing defense.
If the comeback was a difficult task for the home team, things got worse when at the beginning of the second half Nico Fernández was sent off after receiving his second yellow card for a foul from behind on Roro Riquelme. With a man advantage, the «rojiblanco» team completely dominated the match, and ‘Cholo’ Simeone made changes.
However, his men continued to be dangerous and Riquelme himself made it 0-3 in the 62nd minute, a superb goal thanks to a right-footed shot from almost 30 meters whose curve prevented San Román from clearing. In the 75th minute, Rodrigo de Paul showed that he has fresh legs and ideas, scoring the fourth goal for Atleti.
The Argentine ‘Motorcito’ crossed sharply with his left foot and San Román failed to catch the ball, leaving Julián Álvarez to score the definitive 0-4. With this victory, the «colchonero» team easily overcame the round of 16 that seemed more difficult against a team from the second division.
TECHNICAL FILE.
–RESULT: ELCHE, 0 – ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 3 (0-2, halftime).
–THE TEAMS:
ELCHE: San Román; John Donald, Diaby (Mario Gaspar, min.79), Bigas (Affengruber, min.70), Salinas (Álex Martín, min.62); Mendoza (Guti, min.79), Gerard Hernández (Febas, min.70), Rashani, Nico Fernández; Agustín Álvarez and Sory Kaba.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID: Musso; Llorente (Lemar, min.73), Witsel, Le Normand, Azpilicueta; Riquelme (Julián Álvarez, min.73), Koke, Gallagher (Reinildo, min.65), Lino (De Paul, min.61); Correa and Sorloth (Molina, min.46).
–GOALS:
0-1, min. 8: Sorloth.
0-2, min. 29: Sorloth (p.).
0-3, min. 62: Riquelme.
0-4, min. 75: Julián Álvarez.
–Referee: Cuadra Fernández (Balearic Islands). Yellow card for Agustín Álvarez (min.7), Nico Fernández (min.32 and 50) and John Donald (min.34) for Elche and Le Normand (min.69) for Atlético de Madrid.
–STADIUM: Martínez Valero, 26,405 spectators.