Sevilla
Sergio Rico: 8/10
If Sevilla had managed to draw or win the game, Rico would definitely be the man of the match for this game. He pulled off 5 crucial saves and snuffed out a number of half-chances expertly, keeping Sevilla relevant in the game till the end.
Adil Rami: 6/10
While the Frenchman did pull off a number of important interceptions and broke up a number of Barcelona attacks by himself, he was understandably not at his best in the game. Messi and Neymar’s dribbling drew him out of position on enough occasions for us to hand him a 6/10 rating.
Daniel Carrico: 5/10
Carrico was the chief culprit of the Sevilla defence for Barca’s second goal, as he was stripped of possession in a dangerous spot and he could not recover in time to mark Luis Suarez, who calmly converted the chance. While he had to remain hyperactive in dealing with wave after wave of Barca attacks, his mistake cost Sevilla 2 points.
Sergio Escudero: 7/10
He was one of Sevilla’s chief attacking hubs yesterday, racing up and down their left and troubling Sergi Roberto with his movement. The Spaniard is staking a claim for the national team with his performances this season.
Mariano: 7/10
Mariano had a few nervy moments in the game, as is expected of a defender facing the MSN trio, however, he stood his ground and kept his composure throughout the game. He was also a lively presence in attack, linking up occasionally with Pablo Sarabia to good effect.
Samir Nasri: 7.5/10 Nasri performed consistently, even brilliantly at times, on his first-team return from a recurring thigh injury. A player of his quality would do well to kick on from this performance and drive Sevilla to a Champions League berth this season.
Vitolo: 8/10
Apart from scoring the opener, Vitolo also used his pace to devastating effect for the rest of the game. Jorge Sampaoli would be delighted with his performance despite the tough result.
Pablo Sarabia: 7.5/10
Sarabia was the troublemaker-in-chief for Barcelona, as he was dangerous with the ball at his feet, as well as while laying onto his teammates. He bagged the assist for Vitolo’s goal with a lovely through ball that left Vitolo in acres of space to run into.
Steven N’Zonzi: 8/10
He ran like a maniac for the duration of the game and was the livewire of a confident Sevilla display as he found himself covering every blade of grass on the pitch. He was great at closing spaces down for the MSN trio and limiting Barca’s clear-cut chances to a bare minimum.
Luciano Vietto: 7/10
Although Vietto did not get on the scoresheet, his pace caused tremendous headaches to Barcelona’s centre-back pairing of Mascherano and Umtiti, who were simply not fast enough to deal with him. His influence did wane in the second half, however.
Franco Vazquez: 6/10
Like his strike partner, Vazquez had a great game in the first half, but his waning influence in the second half caused Sampaoli to bring on Ganso in his place after the 70th minute. Vazquez can take a lot of encouragement from this performance, though.
Substitutes:
Ganso: 6.5/10
He came on in the 68th minute to try and fetch Sevilla a goal in the closing stages of the game, but the Brazilian was unable to make much of an impact. Not for the lack of trying, however, as Ganso put in a decent shift for the time that he was on the pitch.
Iborra: N/A
Joaquin Correa: N/A
