Sevilla 1-4 Barca: Messi scores a brace, Barca return to the top of the table.
Barca staged a successful comeback against Sevilla with three goals heavily influenced by Lionel Messi, reclaiming the top spot in La Liga and level on points with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Score a goal
Sevilla: Alberto Moreno (15′)
Barca: Alexis (34′), Messi (44′, 56′), Fábregas (88′)
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Just 15 minutes into the match, the home team at Sanchez Pizjuan scored the opening goal. After a shot by Alberto Moreno, the ball deflected off Marc Bartra's foot and went into the net. Following this, Sevilla had several more scoring opportunities but failed to convert them into goals.
Sevilla's wasteful finishing proved costly when Alexis Sanchez scored the equalizer for Barca. The Chilean striker appeared to be offside when he headed the ball into Beto's net after Messi's free kick, but the referee still awarded the goal to Barca. Before the end of the first half, Messi himself scored to put Barca ahead. Notably, this was the first time the Argentine superstar had scored in La Liga from open play since September 28th (in the match against Almeria).
Eleven minutes into the second half, Messi scored his second goal with a quick finish surrounded by the opposing defense.
In the following minutes, Sevilla created several scoring opportunities against Barca, but their players such as Vitolo, Gameiro, and Bacca were unable to beat Valdes or their shots went wide of the target.
With only minutes remaining in the match, substitute Cesc Fabregas scored the goal that sealed a resounding 4-1 victory for Barca against Sevilla. This result allowed the Catalan team to reclaim the top spot in La Liga with 57 points, level with Real and Atletico Madrid but ahead on goal difference.
Starting lineup
Sevilla: Beto, Figueiras, Fazio, Nico Pareja, Alberto Moreno, Rakitic, Carriço, Iborra (Trochowski, 64'), Gameiro (Cheryshev64'), Bacca, Vitolo (Jairo, 76')
Barcelona: Valdés, Montoya, Piqué, Bartra, Adriano, Xavi (Busquets, 83'), Song, Iniesta, Alexis (Sergi Roberto, 87'), Messi, Pedro (Fabregas, 72')
According to Bongdaplus
