Depay's strike sees Atletico Madrid defeat Sevilla to advance to the Copa del Rey semi-finals

Atletico Madrid defeated Sevilla 1-0 on Thursday to advance to the Spanish Copa del Rey semi-finals, thanks to a goal from Dutch forward Memphis Depay.

The home side dominated the first half but failed to score, with the best opportunity coming from a penalty that Antoine Griezmann missed after slipping.

The France international had a chance to redeem himself in the second half, but his effort was ruled offside.

In the 79th minute, Depay scored the game-winning goal as Angel Correa's through pass went between Sergio Ramos's legs.

Sevilla could have equalised in stoppage time after Pablo Barrios' slide tackle on Erik Lamela resulted in a penalty, but a VAR review overturned the decision.

"That last play showed Pablo (Barrios) not to take unnecessary risks. It's good that it happened to him and that there were no consequences in the end," said coach Diego Simeone.

"We have made a great effort to be where we are and in the second half we had a different tempo, we played more risky and the changes gave us the jump we needed," he added.

Athletic Bilbao advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Barcelona 4–2, Mallorca eliminated LaLiga leaders Girona 3-2, and Real Sociedad advanced to the final four with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo.

The semi-final draw will be made on Friday.

SportsLigue