3 Things We Learned: FC Barcelona vs Sevilla FC

Barcelona pulled apart Sevilla to win 3-0 in a remarkably open game at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi Masterclass

The Argentinian genius had an eventful international break due to the harsh suspension he was given from FIFA, after an incident in the match against Chile, which sparked a lot of debate. He was also suspended for Barcelona’s match against Granada at the weekend. Therefore, this was the first match in which he could convert his anger at the decision into a performance.

From the start there was an intensity about his play with and without the ball. This intensity was infectious because Barcelona’s attacking play was relentless; they gave Sevilla little chance to relax. He had a shot five minutes in which cannoned back off the crossbar. Sevilla didn’t pay heed to the warning, though, but in all fairness any team would have struggled against him.

It wasn’t long before the deadlock was broken, Messi was at the heart of it as he combined with Ivan Rakitić on the right-wing. He dribbled to the byline before passing across to Luis Suárez, the ball hit Gabriel Mercado and bounced into the air, but the Uruguayan poacher was too quick as he acrobatically fired the ball over himself and Sergio Rico’s head.

This was just the start of eight minutes of torture for the Andalusians. Three minutes later, Suárez repaid the favour and found Messi in the box, which the Argentine calmly dispatched. Just five minutes after that, Messi took advantage of some sloppy defending from a corner with a powerful volley. It only took him eight minutes to put Los Blanquirrojos to the sword, and from that point on Barça could afford to play in second gear. This didn’t stop him from creating other chances, but he had already made his point.

Attacking Quality

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Barcelona played some beautiful attacking football in this match. They seem to have mastered the formation, which is getting the best out of them when they go forward. It did help that Sevilla pressed the ball high up the pitch because the Catalans were able to play through them. Luis Enrique elected to play Sergi Roberto on the right-wing in the place of the injured Rafinha. It was a good choice because of his work rate, which reduces the gaps on the right side when Barca are out of possession. His decision-making was smart as well, so he could be a better fit for the role than the Brazilian.

The M-S-N trio, Ivan Rakitić, Andrés Iniesta and Roberto were able to combine together well. Iniesta in particular was at his imperious best as he drifted by tackles with ease. The combination of precise passing and smart movement off the ball was too much for the Andalusians.

Praise has to be given to Sergio Busquets and the defenders as well. They were constantly cutting through the opposition lines with precise balls to feet, which gave the creative players space to run in to. A great example of this is in the second half when Busquets drew the opposition towards him before passing to Samuel Umtiti who precisely found Iniesta with a through ball, and Iniesta slid the ball through for Paco Alcacer in a 1v1 against Sergio Rico.

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Sloppiness

There were some issues defensively which need to be addressed for games against better opponents. It was an open game, and if anything the second half was more volatile rather than controlled. The Catalans didn’t have control over the flow of the game even though they were playing well offensively.

Sevilla never looked likely to come back into the game, but they had plenty of chances. Before Barcelona scored their first, Steven N’Zonzi managed to force his way through the defence, but he couldn’t get past Marc-André ter Stegen. There were a few clear chances for them as well in the second half with Stevan Jovetić wasting a great opportunity.

Next: Barcelona vs Sevilla Ratings

The main worry was the amount of space between the midfield and the defence. Granted, the formation and Barcelona’s style of play does give the opposition plenty of space to play in if they get round the press. However, the defence was sloppy when dealing with attacks with some hasty clearances, which just brought more pressure on to them.

There was also a lot of sloppy passes in the second half, which gave Sevilla the ball high up the pitch, and they should have punished the Catalans. Some of this can be put down to Barça not playing at their highest level in the second half due to being so far ahead. However, they can’t afford to give teams such as Real Madrid or Juventus a chance to come back into matches. Therefore, they need to learn from these mistakes.