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The defending champions, Barcelona, are in serious danger of bowing out of the Copa Del Rey after suffering a 2-0 defeat at Sevilla. It was sweet revenge for the home team who were beaten by Barcelona in the finals of Copa Del Rey during the last two years. It is still only half-completed revenge as the return leg is still remaining.
Considering the way the defending champions have been dealing with the first leg defeats over the years, one could argue that they can still win the tie.
As the visitors came from a dominating win in the previous round of the competition, they were looking to secure the tie even without the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets. However, the home side was hungry to avenge their yesteryear losses in the competition at the hands of the Catalans.
The men in white looked razor sharp from the beginning. With a dominating display, they won the first leg 2-0.
Let us now look at 3 reasons why Barca lost the match
#3 Squad Selection
While Sevilla fielded their first team with most of their star players, Barcelona played a comparatively reserved team.
Omitting Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets from the squad looked justified with a pile of matches coming ahead for the side. However, several other selections were highly questionable.
Selections were speculative in two different aspects. One, La Blaugrana have always found the Copa Del Rey as a platform to groom their academy graduates. This match had only one academy graduate, namely Carles Alena. Also, he was given a tough task to play on the left wing. Moving a left-footed creative mid-fielder from right flank to left wing was not the wisest of moves from Valverde.
#2 Intent and Awareness
The two sides looked to have a very distinct attitude about the competition.
On one hand, Sevilla were clinical and determined throughout the game. Having lost some tight matches in La Liga to Barcelona, the visitors looked to learn from their mistakes and capitalize on the opponent’s weakness.
Deciding to play a strong team in the first leg turned out to be a great decision from Sevilla's manager. On the other hand, the men in blue looked shabby and unprepared. Lionel Messi, who was the catalyst in Barca's previous wins over Sevilla, was omitted from the squad.
Starting a newly bought player like Kevin Prince Boateng in the very first match was a poor decision. The fact that Valverde did not urge his team to fire in crosses into the box when you have a striker who is great in the air, only added to the trouble.
#1 Poor display from stalwarts
Even before the match, it was quite clear that the few senior players were in the squad just to support their younger counterparts. When the team struggles to find its way, the veterans have to step up.
Ironically, it was a very poor display from the stalwarts. Although Clement Lenglet is considerably young, his first team appearances in this season would have given him enough experience and confidence. But the experience counted for nothing as he looked clueless during both the goals from Sevilla.
Later on, Valverde brought in Luis Suarez and Philip Coutinho but it hardly changed anything. Both of them could not do anything of note and failed to trouble Sevilla's backline.
Their link-ups yesterday were not quite up to the mark. Coutinho had a chance to impress but the midfielder shot the ball above the crossbar instead of laying it for Suarez.
