"Gavi owns my heart", "Beginning to own that La Liga title race" - Twitter goes wild as Barcelona make title statement with Sevilla win

Barcelona tightened their grip on the La Liga title race with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sevilla on Sunday (February 5). Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinha were on the scoresheet as the Blaugrana moved eight points clear of Real Madrid with 18 games to go.

Xavi's side dominated the first half, and Robert Lewandowski had several chances at goal. His first opportunity arrived in the 17th minute when he shot at Sevilla goalkeeper Bono's goal, but the Moroccan did well to deny Lewandowski.

The former Bayern Munich frontman went close again in the 26th minute with an effort from outside the box. However, Bono was once again on hand to thwart the veteran forward. Sevilla grew into the game, but Barcelona were the more likely side to score in a drab first half.

Raphinha had an opportunity to put the hosts in front in the 57th minute. However, Bono made another fine stop to prevent the Brazilian's header from going in. Xavi's men kept pushing for the breakthrough, which finally arrived in the 58th minute through Alba.

A brilliant ball into the box from Andreas Christensen saw Raphinha play a threaded pass to Franck Kessie. The Ivorian played the ball onto Alba's path, and the Spaniard opened the scoring.

The Blaugrana's second arrived in the 70th minute, with Gavi grabbing his second goal of the season. The teenager latched on to Raphinha's astute low-driven cross to slot home from close range.

The former Leeds United attacker got into the scoresheet 11 minutes from time. He was sent a ball from over the top by Alba and placed home past Bono. It was a crucial win for the Blaugrana as they have put themselves in pole position to win La Liga.

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets ruled out of Manchester United Europa League clash

Barcelona fans will fear the worst after Sergio Busquets picked up a knock in just the fourth minute. The veteran midfielder went down under a tackle from Marcos Acuna. He limped off the pitch and was replaced by Franck Kessie in the eighth minute.

Xavi's side have a grueling schedule of fixtures ahead of them, including clashes with Manchester United in the Europa Playoffs. According to Spanish journalist Toni Juanmarti, he's set to miss the first leg of the playoff against the Red Devils on February 16. The Blaugrana are already dealing with an injury to Ousmane Dembele, who will miss that clash.

Busquets had impressed recently following a disappointing start to the campaign. He has made 26 appearances across competitions, providing an assist, and helping keep 15 clean sheets.

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Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

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A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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