Sevilla 2-4 Barcelona: 3 things we learned

Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-2 in a LaLiga match at Seville on Saturday, 23rd February to stretch their lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid to 10 points. Barca now have 57 points from 25 matches and remain favourites to win their 26th LaLiga title. However, their arch-rivals are on 45 points from 24 matches, and would desperately try to beat Barca in the El Clasico on 2nd March at Santiago Bernabeu. Meanhwhile, Sevilla remained at 5th place with 37 points from 25 matches.

Lionel Messi was imperious for Barca again on Saturday, as he scored a wonderful hattrick. Luis Suarez scored the other goal for Barcelona, while Jesus Navas and Mercado scored for Sevilla. Sevilla led 2-1 at half-time, but Barcelona made a very strong comeback in the second half to register a memorable win.

We would now take a look at the 3 things we learned from yesterday’s match.

Also see : Real Madrid Transfer News, Barcelona Transfer News, Liverpool Tranfer News

#1 Messi continues to rescue Barca and amaze us

There is little doubt about the fact that Messi is the greatest player of his generation, and maybe of all time. However, his consistency as a footballer still continues to amaze and enthral the football lovers.

He rescued Barcelona yet again with a tremendous performance that underlined his undeniable genius. His first goal came through a brilliant diving volley as he met Ivan Rakitic’s cross from the left wing. His second goal was a testimony to his shooting prowess, as he shot home from the edge of Sevilla’s penalty box.

Messi showed his opportunism as a forward when he pounced on to the ball after it had deflected off a Sevilla defender into the penalty box to complete his hattrick. The great man now has 33 goals from 32 matches this season, and has been rescuing Barcelona on a regular basis.

However, the Sevilla defenders were guilty of allowing Messi too much space and time inside the final third. He was frequently given enough space to control the ball and then take a shot at the goal. To his credit, he made things difficult for the Sevilla defenders by falling back repeatedly to the right midfield, and then surge quickly towards the penalty box with the ball on his feet.

#2 Sevilla troubled the Barca defence with high-pressing in the first half

Sevilla got their first goal from a swift counter-attacking move, as Messi lost the ball near the Sevilla penalty box, and Wissam Ben Yedder made a surging run into the Barcelona half before passing the ball to Jesus Navas, who was advancing through the right flank. Navas calmly shot the ball past Ter Stegen to score his 4th goal for Sevilla.

Messi equalized soon after, but Sevilla continued to trouble the Barca defence with their high pressing. Ben Yedder had a fantastic match as the lone forward of Sevilla and combined very well with the likes of Navas and Sarabia. Sevilla’s left-back Maximilian Wober also had a lively first half, as he repeatedly made forays into the Barca half.

Ben Yedder, Sarabia and Navas continued to press the Barca defence intensely and their second goal resulted from it. Sevilla won the ball near the Barca penalty box, and it was played to the Sarabia on the right flank. He delivered a neat cross into the penalty box, and Mercado surged into an empty space to bang the ball home. Gerard Pique was caught out of position by this swift move from Sevilla and could do nothing to prevent it.

#3 Barca went all out in the second half and the Sevilla defence crumbled

Barca took off Arturo Vidal and introduced Dembele in the second half to make their intentions very clear. Dembele’s inclusion meant that they had four genuine attacking players on the pitch. Philippe Coutinho also put in a better display in the second half and created some moves through the left flank.

However, it boiled down to Messi’s brilliance in the end, as he tormented the Sevilla defence almost single-handedly. Sevilla committed the mistake of trying to match Barca’s pace instead of slowing the game down at times. They should have slowed the tempo of the game by playing more passes and holding on to the ball for longer durations in order to disrupt Barca’s flow.

Sevilla’s defenders like Simon Kjaer found it almost impossible to deal with Messi’s skills and pace. Moreover, they tried to play Suarez offside by playing a high line in the dying minutes of the match, but failed in their pursuit, as the Uruguayan striker beat the offside trap to finish neatly with a sublime chip over the goalkeeper. It was his 17th goal of the season, and would give him some much-needed confidence.

Edited by Kingshuk Kusari