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Barcelona pulled off the comeback of the year so far against Sevilla earlier today and thrashed the Andalusians by a 3-0 margin to progress to the Copa del Rey finals. The Catalan giants showed plenty of fighting spirit to overcome a first-leg deficit of two goals and now have an excellent opportunity to win their first trophy under Ronald Koeman.
The Blaugrana dominated most of the game but seemed to be on their way out towards the end of normal time. Gerard Pique was Barcelona's hero on the day and scored a header in stoppage-time and Martin Braithwaite went on to bag the winner in the first half of extra-time.
Barcelona got off to a bright start to the game and created a flurry of chances in the opening stages of the match. The Catalans needed an early goal to settle the nerves against Sevilla and Ousmane Dembele stepped up to halve the deficit in spectacular fashion.
The Frenchman received the ball at the edge of the penalty area and took his time against Jules Kounde before unleashing a stunning shot and left Sevilla shot-stopper Yassine Bounou rooted to the spot.
Barcelona continued to pile on the pressure as Sevilla were restricted to making last-ditch clearances in their own penalty area. Lionel Messi nearly doubled Barcelona's lead but was denied by a goal-line clearance by fellow Argentine Marcos Acuna.
Barcelona were the better team in the first half and should have been well ahead at half-time. The Catalans' three-man defence cut out most of Sevilla's counters and the likes of Lionel Messi and Frenkie de Jong were able to dominate the midfield.
Barcelona dominated the ball in the second half but needed a few tactical tweaks to create concrete chances. Jordi Alba nearly drew Barcelona level with a volley from the penalty area that struck the crossbar.
Sevilla did threaten with their counter-attacks, however, and received an excellent chance to score a crucial away goal as Oscar Mingueza fouled Lucas Ocampos in the penalty area. Marc-Andre ter Stegen stepped up to spare Barcelona's blushed and saved the Argentine's tame effort to keep the Catalans in the game.
Gerard Pique stuns Sevilla with Barcelona's late equaliser
Barcelona's hopes began to fade at the end of the second half as Sevilla put all their men behind the ball. Fernando received his second yellow card for a cynical foul on Francisco Trincao and Sevilla were left with a numerical disadvantage.
Barcelona's desperation resulted in a series of set-pieces in stoppage-time as Sevilla camped in their own penalty area. Gerard Pique decided to take matters into his own hands and sensationally drew Barcelona level with the last touch of the second half.
Barcelona had the upper hand in extra-time against ten-man Sevilla and took full toll of their numerical advantage to pile on the misery. Jordi Alba was the creator this time as he picked up the ball on the left flank and whipped in a pacy cross that found Martin Braithwaite's intelligent header.
As is usually the norm with Barcelona, there was plenty of drama left in the match as Clement Lenglet survived a VAR check for a handball. Sevilla were furious with the officials' decision and received a flurry of cards for their remonstrations.
Barcelona played out of the remainder of the match to complete yet another high-profile comeback and secured a famous win in the Copa del Rey.
The Catalan giants will now face one of Athletic Bilbao and Levante in the final of the competition later this season.
Also Read: 5 players who were dubbed to be the next Lionel Messi
