After a draw in yesterday’s Madrid Derby, Barca had a chance to finally swerve themselves back into position for a potential league title.
With a win against Sevilla, Barca would sit three points off Real Madrid and only one point off Atletico Madrid, giving themselves a clear shot at the league title and an opportunity to control their own destiny.
But Sevilla away has always given teams problems and that would be no different today.
So let’s see how Barca fared against Sevilla.
First half
The first half saw Barca strike quick, with an early goal to take control of the match and silence any sort of noise coming from the Sevilla crowd.
It was a boot into the box that saw Inigo Martinez get a head on it, pass it to the far post, and eventually finding a poaching Robert Lewandowski to give Barca the early 1-0 lead.
Gritty opening goal that saw Lewandowski increase his goal tally on the season to 30, a number that no 36 year old should be hitting at a top five league and at a club as prestigious as Barcelona.
The joy was short lived though, because Sevilla equalized minutes later after another mistake by Ronald Araujo. This time he kept a Sevilla attacker onside due to his positioning not being in accordance with the offsides trap, and as a result, Sevilla found an easy tap in goal on the other end.
To make matters worse for Araujo, he had to come off later with an injury.
For a moment this match felt like the Real Betis one earlier in the season, one that Barca struggled to defend when they finally found moments that boosted their own momentum. Would this match be the same?
Well, we had to wait until the second half for that, because Barca went into halftime drawing 1-1.
There were some obvious changes that needed to be made, mostly regarding subs and positioning. But would they work?
Let’s see if they did.
Second half
And oh boy they did.
Hansi Flick managed the game well once again, this time by taking off Gavi and brining on Fermin Lopez, someone who can provide an extra goal threat and more intensity in the middle and final third.
It didn’t take long for Lopez to make an impact either, as he scored a goal just minutes into the second half to put Barca up 2-1. It was an excellent ball from Pedri — who’s finally receiving some luck in the way of assists — and an excellent headed finish by Lopez to score the goal, an important goal to wring Barca free from the sneaky snake in Sevilla.
The hits kept coming too, as Raphinha scored a banger to give Barca a 3-1 lead. In fact, it wasn’t just a simple banger from outside the box, it was a right footed banger from outside the box that curled far post.
Who knew Raphinha had that in his arsenal?
I still can’t believe he scored that goal….!
After this some unfortunate events occurred, with Fermin Lopez getting sent off with a red card after a reckless challenge of Djibril Sow.
Barca were now down to ten men and needed to defend carefully for 30 more minutes to secure an easy three points. There wasn’t much anxiety though, as Barca had been in this position before — Supercopa Final against Real Madrid — and they came out perfectly fine.
The same occurred tonight, as Barca defended well and even got a nice goal to push the lead to 4-1 courtesy of an Eric Garcia clean up header.
Perfect ending to an imperfect match for Barca, as they won 4-1 and put themselves back in the fight for La Liga.
Final word
This match had its ups and downs, but big props to Hansi Flick and his men for fighting through the struggles to find a positive result. Class from Pedri and Raphinha, clutch goal from Fermin, and perfect second half defending from Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi.
Tough match for Lamine Yamal, as he had two defenders on him at all times. But he’ll bounce back surely.
Onto the next match!
Barca’s next match
Barca’s next match will be next Monday as they take on Rayo Vallecano. This time its at home, so no house of horrors at the Estadio de Vallecas this time.
See you all then!
I’ve been a big time Barca fan since I was 14 years old. I love the club, the history, and the tradition that the club has built over its prestigious history. Forca Barca!
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