FC Barcelona have successfully wrapped up their 7th away victory, after seeing 0-2 over Sevilla on a mellow Saturday evening at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
Sevilla were nailed on their own turf, as goals from Ousmane Dembele and Leo Messi gave the Blaugrana a firm win.
With this wrap up, the Catalan giants have moved on to the 2nd place by overtaking their rivals, Real Madrid. They however stand two points below Atletico Madrid, who still have two games in hand.
Yet, Los Blancos can lowkey regain the 2nd spot if they promise a win against Real Sociedad on Tuesday. The Andalusians, too, will at least try to finish 4th at the end of the season.
Sevilla FC 0-2 FC Barcelona Team News:
Sevilla head coach Julen Lopetegui carried out five changes in all. Three of them were underway in the first half, where En-Nesyri, Rekik, and Suso came in for Diego Carlos, Munir, and Papu Gomez. The rest two were likewise made in the second half, with Luuk de Jong and Ivan Rakitic making their way for Oscar Rodríguez and Oliver Torres.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman opted for a 3-5-2 line-up, than the usual 4-3-3. Ronald Araujo suffered a tiny limp, after coming in for Gerard Pique. He was then replaced by Samuel Umtiti. Similarly, the La Masia talent Ilaix Moriba was called in for Pedri and Martin Braithwaite for the French forward, Ousmane Dembele.
Sevilla 0-2 Barcelona Post-Match Analysis:
Barcelona put up a complete performance from start to end. But they were pretty unfortunate in the opening minutes to have successful shots on target. However the breakthrough came in at the 28th minute, where Messi gifted Dembele with a clever ball where he rolled it past Sevilla goalkeeper, Bounou.
During the second half, the Azulgranas found themselves lucky on certain events. Sergino Dest inched closed for a goal, after hitting the post in the 58th minute.
Captain Messi too missed 2-3 chances, but nevertheless, he picked-up the ball from Dembele, and the substitute Ilaix Moriba in the 85th minute. And dodging past four Sevilla defenders, he floated the ball into the goalpost.
Sevilla, on few occasions, hit the back of the net but En-Nesyri‘s goal was disallowed for being a handball. In the final minutes, they somehow took control of the game but were quickly dispossessed.
Notable Performances:
Lionel Messi (Man of the Match) 9/10: The best ever, who in his great form always stepped-up, assisted Dembele, scored a goal, and secured a huge yet crucial win for the team.
Ousmane Dembele (8/10): Even with being unlucky many times, he somehow managed to score past the Sevilla defense. He also helped Messi set up his second goal.
Sergio Escudero (6.5): The only player who had quiet an impact on the game. Unlike the others, he did his best to tackle every attack from Barcelona.
After today’s decadent triumph, Barça must try to keep up their same form. Sevilla must also work on their errors, as both teams are soon due to face each other on Thursday during the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.
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