Barcelona 4-2 Sevilla
Barcelona ended a four-game winless run and returned to the top of La Liga with a huge win over league-leading Sevilla; however, an injury to star striker Lionel Messi ruined what could have been a perfect night for the Catalans.
Ernesto Valverde’s men scored twice on both sides of the interval to break the Sevillistas’ winning streak, but Messi picked up an arm injury midway through the first half, which effectively ended his night with the home team.
Sevilla tried to fight back in the absence of the Argentine talisman, but their two second-half goals weren’t enough to turn the tables against Barca who showed quality and great composure amid the crisis.
Highlights of the game
Barcelona knew they had to win at Camp Nou and break their slump if they are to boost their chances of retaining the Spanish top-flight title, and they did show more hunger this time around compared to their poor performance against Valencia before the international break.
It didn’t take long for Barca to find the back of the net against the streaking Sevilla side, scoring twice in a span of 12 minutes to get things going.
In fact, it took them less than 120 seconds to break the deadlock, with Nelson Semedo, Luis Suarez and Messi linking up well to dissect the Sevilla defence and pave the way for Philippe Coutinho to score the opener.
Messi had the ball at the top of the box after good work from Semedo and Suarez, and the Argentine made no mistake when he saw Coutinho open and with enough space. The Brazilian playmaker then converted the assist from the Barca skipper and sent the ball into the top corner.
Ten minutes later, Barca were at it again. This time, it was Messi scoring off the counter following a defensive lapse from Pablo Machin’s men.
Sevilla failed to retain possession during a play, and when Suarez got the ball, the Uruguayan set up Messi who was moving from the right flank towards the goal. Messi was left one-on-one with Sergi Gomez, and the five-time Ballon d’Or winner easily scored with a left-footed shot.
Unfortunately for Barca, everything didn’t go as planned after Messi suffered an injury just moments later from his sublime goal. While competing for the ball against Franco Vazquez, Messi fell awkwardly and landed on his outstretched arm.
The 31-year-old writhed in pain and was immediately taken off the pitch by two members of the medical staff. He was then substituted on 26 minutes.
Barca managed to stay in the front foot in the second half and extended their lead three goals to nothing when Suarez scored from the spot on 63 minutes. The former Liverpool man was brought down by Sevilla keeper Tomas Vaclik, and he made sure to make it count after.
Sevilla pulled one back via a deflected effort from Pablo Sarabia—which was counted as a Clement Lenglet own goal—but the Catalans were just too strong and proved to be a tough nut to crack as Marc-Andre ter Stegen made an incredible double save to deny Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder in the ensuing plays.
Barcelona closed out the match when Ivan Rakitic hit a stunning low volley on 88 minutes to make it 4-1.
Luis Muriel scored for Sevilla in injury time, but it was mere consolation after a dominant night from Barcelona.
Valverde and his men would be happy with the result and their return to form just in time for next week’s El Clasico, but there’s no doubt the La Liga 2018 news will be about Messi and his road to recovery.
Key statistics
The pre-match La Liga 2018 odds at SBOBET pointed to an overwhelming Barca win, and Valverde’s side didn’t disappoint as they were in the driver’s seat throughout.
Post-match statistics show that Barca got the lion’s share of possession with 53 percent. They also had 23 shots overall, nine of which were on target. Sevilla, in contrast, had 19 shots and six on-target efforts.
In response to Barca’s attacking threat of Messi, Suarez and Coutinho, Sevilla played more physical. The visitors had 16 fouls, while Barcelona finished with only 10. The game saw only one yellow card handed though.
What’s next?
According to the official release of FC Barcelona, Messi suffered a “fracture of the radial bone in his right arm.” He is expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks, ruling him out of next week’s Champions League match with Inter Milan and the El Clasico at Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi injury update: Barcelona confirmed Messi had undergone test and will be out for weeks.
"Tests carried out on the first team player Leo Messi have confirmed that he has a fracture of the radial bone in his right arm. He will be out for approximately three weeks." pic.twitter.com/5W4p7SnKO3
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) October 20, 2018
For Sevilla, they dropped to third after enjoying two weeks at the top. They play in the Europa League next before a league meeting with bottom team Huesca.
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