Sevilla down Atletico in quarters

Madrid, Jan. 24: Sevilla needed only a few seconds to end Atletico Madrid’s hopes of reaching the Copa del Rey semi- finals.

Sergio Escudero scored 26 seconds into the match as Sevilla defeated Atletico 3- 1 at home on Tuesday, advancing 5- 2 on aggregate for their second semi- final appearance in three years.

It was the second elimination for Atletico, who had already failed to get past the group stage of the Champions League.

“Both eliminations are my responsibility,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “And it’s my responsibility to make sure that we keep competing, like we always have.”

Atletico’s hopes for a title this season are reduced to the Spanish league and the Europa League. They trail Barcelona by 11 points at the start of the second half in La Liga.

“We had a lot of hopes of doing well in the Copa,” Atletico midfielder Koke said. “But in the end Sevilla was a better team. We have to move on.”

It was another reassuring result for Sevilla under new coach Vincenzo Montella, who revamped the team since replacing Eduardo Berizzo late last year. After a slow start, Montella has led Sevilla to three straight wins, putting the team back in contention for a Champions League spot in the Spanish league.

“We needed a result like this,” Sevilla midfielder Pablo Sarabia said.

“We needed this to boost our confidence and to allow us to keep improving,” he added further.

Sevilla made it to the Copa del Rey final two years ago, losing to Barcelona. They won the last of their five Copa titles in 2010.