Sevilla vs Barcelona Review
Barcelona had to put in a lot of effort, playing more than 30 minutes with just 10 players, as they secured their ninth victory in 11 matches with an impressive 4-1 win against Sevilla, putting them back in contention for the La Liga title. Following a 1-1 draw in the Madrid derby the previous night, Barça understood the importance of winning to take advantage of the top two teams dropping points. They made their intentions clear by scoring within the first seven minutes. A corner kick strategy worked well, as Raphinha delivered a well-placed ball that Iñigo Martínez headed towards Robert Lewandowski, who finished it off.
However, Barça has had difficulty maintaining clean sheets away from home in La Liga this season, and this issue surfaced again when Sevilla equalized just a minute later, marking the Blaugrana’s sixth consecutive game without a league clean sheet on the road. Right from the kick-off after conceding, the Rojiblancos easily penetrated the visitors’ defense, with Saúl breaking through and passing to Rubén Vargas, who scored.
After an exciting start, both teams had opportunities to increase their scores during the first half. Raphinha had a long-range shot saved, and shortly after, Jules Koundé missed the target from the edge of the area. Lamine Yamal was having a relatively quiet night but managed to have a shot saved at the near post. Sevilla also had a chance to take the lead before halftime, with Dodi Lukebakio’s overhead kick being expertly stopped by Wojciech Szczęsny. The second half began similarly to the first, with Barça scoring just a minute after the restart. Following a quick passing sequence, Pedri delivered a cross into the box for Fermín López to head in.
However, Barça repeated their first-half mistakes by conceding just a minute later, but this time they were saved by the linesman’s offside call. Sevilla once again penetrated Barça’s defense easily, with Isaac Romero setting up Vargas for a tap-in, but the Swiss international was denied a second goal. This missed opportunity proved to be significant, as Flick’s team scored a third goal in the 55th minute, with Raphinha, arguably their standout player of the season, striking powerfully from the edge of the box for his 24th goal of the season.
While enjoying a two-goal advantage, the visiting team faced a setback when López tackled Djibril Sow, earning a yellow card that was later changed to a red after a lengthy VAR review. Despite having the numerical advantage, Sevilla could not take advantage, as Barcelona scored a fourth goal late in the match with a header from Eric García. This victory brings Barça within one point of second-place Atlético Madrid and two points behind leaders Real Madrid. On the other hand, Sevilla’s unbeaten streak of four matches has ended, leaving García Pimienta’s team in 13th place.
