Barcelona extended their unbeaten run to 34 games after a Messi-inspired victory over Sevilla. It wasn’t an easy game for the Catalans with the visitors making a good contest out of the game. But in the end, two moments of quality from the home side saw them extend their lead over Real Madrid to 12 points. Here is how the players fared:
Barcelona
Claudio Bravo – 7.5/10
Made a few good saves and a very crucial one from Gameiro in the second half. Could not do anything about Sevilla’s first with his defence all over the place in terms of their marking and positioning.
Aleix Vidal – 5.5/10
An average performance from te right back today. Didn’t do much going forward. Was at fault for giving Krohn-Delhi and Tremoulinas too much time on the right-hand side for the first goal. He was subbed off to be replaced by Dani Alves in the second half
Piqué – 8/10
A solid performance by the centre back. Was the best defender in the Barca team today.Got Barcelona; second goal which turned out tho be the winner. If it wasn’t fo the Spanish International Barcelona might have conceded a few more than usual this season
Jeremi Mathieu – 6/10
Was not a composed performance by the centre back. Was partly at fault for the first goal after his poor positioning and marking which led to Vitolo scoring. Had a better second half but needed his defensive partner to bail him out several times
Jordi Alba – 6/10
Had an inspirational game today. Had a nightmare against Coke and Vitolo for most of the game. Was outnumbered by Sevilla’s right hand sided players many times. He didn’t porivide much in attack either with a couple of sloppy passes
Sergi Roberto – 7/10
Put in a good shift tonight. HIs energy and running was very evident and tracked back really well when Barcelona didn’t have the ball. He wasn't as efficient in his attacking play though. Had a few misplaced passes in the game.
Sergio Busquets – 8/10
Busquets is turning out to be a crucial member in this Barcelona team. Was commanding in midfield, holding the ball well. Always played the right pass at the right time and ensured his Sevilla counterparts didn’t get the better of him in the middle of the park.
Arda Turan– 5/10
Arda started the match in place of Andres Iniesta. The Turkish international is close to completing his second month since the ban was lifted but hasn’t completely gotten adjusted with the Barcelona system. Iniesta replaced him in the second half
Lionel Messi – 9/10
Man of the match for Barcelona. Once again the talisman got his team out of jail. Trailing 1-0 Messi scored a superb Free-Kick to equalize. Looked like the most likely player to create something for Barcelona when he had the ball. Was involved in the second goal as well playing a lovely reverse pass to Suarez who in turn setup Pique.
Luis Suárez – 8/10
The second most threating player after Leo Messi. His movement, cleverness with the ball was a handful for the Sevilla defense. Linked almost telepathically at times with Messi. Got the assist for Barcelona’s second goal.
Neymar – 7.5/10
The Brazilian started brightly in the game and looked like the most creative force for Barcelona in the opening stages. But as the game wore on his influence slightly withered. Did not have a good game by his exceptionally high standards
Substitutes :
Andres Iniesta – 7/10
Came on for Arda Turan. Helped Barcelona become more potent in attack but made certain uncharacteristic errors in the game. Was still an improvement on Arda Turan
Dani Alves – 5/10
Was a substitute for Vidal but didn’t prove to be any better than his teammate. A below par performance from the left back
Ivan Rakitic – n/a
Came on as a late substitute for Sergi Roberto.
Sevilla
Sergio Rico – 8/10
Made some good save in the first half to keep his team ahead. He obviously couldn’ t do anything about Messi’ s superb free kick. Made several save in the second half as well keeping out the likes of Suarez and Busquets. Sevilla might have conceded more than they did if not for their keeper
Coke – 7.5/10
Gave a good account of himself against Neymar. The tricky Brazilian can be very hard to play against but Coke did better than most have this season. Even still he did find it tough at times to deal with Neymar's’ off the ball runs but overall a decent game.
Adil Rami – 7.5/10
Had the better game of the two centre backs. When you deal with the likes of Suarez Neymar and Messi its always difficult but he defended well in the first and limited the time and space given to Suarez.
Kolo – 6.5/10
Kolo looked slightly worrying in defence/. Found it difficult with the movement of Messi and Suarez. Had a good first half but started tapering in his performance towards the end of te half. Was poor in his marking sometimes but did
Tremoulinas – 7.5/10
Caused the Barcelona defense all sorts of problems and Vidal in particular. Assisted Vitolo for the first goal of the game. Of course he found it difficult against the likes of Messi. Not many can contain the Argentine and the left back wasn’t one of those few
Cristóforo – 4/10
Was a bit an anonymous in the game. Had a very quiet evening. Did not really influence the game much. The Barca midfield ran him ragged on the night and he was subbed off in the sixtieth minute for Knoplyianka
Steven N'Zonzi – 6/10
Was composed when had possession and played some good passes in the game. Was involved in the counter-attack that led to the first goal. Found it difficult against he likes of Busquets at time but did well int he second half to break up play
Vitolo – 7/10
Was one of Sevilla’s better players. Scored the goal that gave them the lead in the first half. A composed finish. Had bright moments in the game during the first half. He didn't; get too involved in second half attacks as Barcelona dominated most of the possession
Iborra – 8/10
Sevilla’s creative force today in midfield. Pulled the strings well and used the ball, wisely whenever they had itl. Played in a lovely through ball for Gamiero in the second half that put him one on one with the keeper.
Micheal Krohn-Dehli – 7/10
Had a bright start to the game. Krohn-Dehli was involved in the first half for Sevilla’s goal. His movement off the ball was good. But the second half saw his influence diminish slightly.
Kevin Gameiro – 7/10
Was full of running and pace giving Mathieu and Alba a tough time. HIs movement was excellent and drove several times at the defence. Had a brilliant chance to put Sevilla level in the second half after he was one on one but his finish let him down.
Substitutes:
Y Konoplyanka – 4/10
The Midfielder came on for Cristoforo in the second half but wasn’t a huge improvement on the player he replaced in terms of performance. Lost the ball in promising positions.
Juan Munoz – N/A
Came on as a late substitute for Iborra. Did not influence the game as a much as Iborra did.
