Sevilla 1-4 Barcelona Barcelona completed a comfortable comeback against Sevilla as they returned to the top of the Primera Liga standings with a 4-1 win on Sunday. Barcelona completed a comfortable comeback against Sevilla as they returned to the top of the Primera Liga standings with a 4-1 win on Sunday. Alberto Moreno opened the scoring at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium after just 15 minutes, but Alexis Sanchez restored parity shortly after the half-hour mark. A Lionel Messi double either side of the break then put the Catalan giants into the lead for the first time, while Cesc Fabregas sealed the win with a smart finish over the on-rushing Beto three minutes from time. The result saw Barca climb above Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to head a three-way tie at the summit, with goal difference separating the top-three sides in Spain. The home side flew out of the traps on a rain-drenched night to put the champions under pressure, scoring in the 15th minute after a great run from Ivan Rakitic. The Croatian beat two defenders before squaring for Vitolo, whose deft touch was hammered goalwards by Alberto Moreno, beating Victor Valdes thanks to a huge deflection off Marc Bartra. Sevilla could have doubled their lead moments later but Carlos Baccas header came back off the post before Rakitic dragged wide, when Vitolo was in space after a quick counter. There was a touch of controversy about Barcelonas equaliser on 34 minutes as Alexis looked offside when guiding Messis free-kick beyond Beto with his back. There was no doubting the go-ahead goal on the stroke of half-time, though, with Andres Iniesta and Pedro Rodriguez combining beautifully to tee up Messi on the edge of the box, with the Argentine dispatching an unerring half-volley beyond the reach of the despairing Beto. Sevilla began the second half in stirring fashion and should have equalised within minutes of the restart but Victor Machin put his shot wide when one-on-one with Valdes, who made a superb double-save to deny Bacca and Kevin Gameiro moments later. The champions made the game safe on 56 minutes when Andres Iniesta fed Messi on the edge of the box, this time curling his shot in off the post to the keepers right. Denis Cheryshev and Bacca could have made the game more interesting with better finishing but Alexis was equally wasteful, while Messi could have had a penalty and Adriano blasted wide from close range. The fourth did eventually come in the 88th minute when Alexis broke down the right and found Fabregas in space in the box, with the former Arsenal captain applying a cool lobbed finish to add some gloss to the scoreline.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 05:38:27 +0000
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