1-1: SEVILLA GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH BARCELONA AT THE CAMP NOU

04/10/2020

A strong Sevilla FC performance in their first real test of the league season. De Jong gave Sevilla an early lead, but Barcelona levelled minutes later. Lopetegui's men looked for a winner but ultimately had to settle for a point

In recent years, Sevilla FC have been accused of not putting up enough of a fight against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou. There will be no such accusations tonight. The Nervionenses took the fight to the hosts, and secured a point at the Camp Nou for the first time since October 2011. In fact, Sevilla could have gone one step further and taken all three points, bringing on three strikers in the second half as they looked for a winner. Ultimately, the match ended 1-1, with both goals coming in the opening ten minutes, with De Jong striking first before Coutinho responded almost instantly.

The Blanquirrojos, once again, proved their worth against one of the biggest teams in Europe. They proved that very early on in Catalonia, as they took the lead with what was effectively their first chance. A short corner was whipped into the box by Suso. After Koundé tried to convert, the ball fell to De Jong, who hammered the ball into the roof of the net, leaving Neto with no chance. Eight minutes in, Sevilla were a goal to the good. Unfortunately, that joy was short-lived. A stretching Navas was unable to clear Messi's through ball, with Coutinho taking advantage of the loose ball, battering it beyond Bono.

De Jong and Coutinho took advantage of their teams' first chances

That equaliser could have been a real hammer blow, but Lopetegui, who was in the stands today due to a touchline ban, and his squad continued with their plan and made things very difficult for Barcelona, who created little apart from a Griezmann chance, which hit the sidenetting, and a trademark Messi shot, which went just beyond the far post. The Nervionenses also went close to breaking the deadlock again, but Fernando was millimetres away from poking a Navas cross beyond Neto. Sevilla looked defensively assured. They took risks as they looked to benefit from spaces left by Barcelona, but defended resolutely in numbers when the Catalans attacked.

From experience, Sevilla knew that Barcelona could destroy all that hard work with one moment of magic. However, their attitude from the first 45 minutes continued to stay the same, and they were able to match Barcelona physically, who pushed strongly for a winner. Nonetheless, Julen Lopetegui made attacking changes and showed ambition. Munir and En-Nesyri came on, and De Jong stayed on. It was clear that Sevilla were here for three points.

The closest Sevilla came to a winner was an En-Nesyri cross, deflected onto the crossbar by Araujo

Not long after En-Nesyri came on, the Nervionenses nearly scored a second. The Moroccan attacker came forward at pace and crossed the ball, which was then deflected onto the bar by Araujo, with Neto completely beaten. At times, Sevilla did have to defend deeper, and brought on Gudelj to sure up the backline. However, the attacking substitutions continued, as Óliver came on before Carlos Fernández made his first appearance of the season.

The only time that Sevilla truly had to dig deep and suffer came in added time, as Barcelona went all out for the win. Trincao had a late one-on-one chance to secure a win for the Catalans, but Bono denied the youngster to secure a huge point for the Nervionenses. All in all, a deserved point, but one that even leaves a bittersweet aftertaste for Sevilla, with the team now sharing the same demands as their fans.

MATCH STATISTICS

1. FC BARCELONA: Neto, Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Araujo, Jordi Alba (Dest, 75'), De Jong, Busquets, Coutinho (Pjanic, 75'), Griezmann (Pedri, 61'), Ansu Fati (Trincao, 61') and Messi.

1. SEVILLA FC: Bono, Jesús Navas, Koundé, Diego Carlos, Acuña, Rakitic (Gudelj, 78'), Fernando, Joan Jordán (Óliver Torres, 84'), Ocampos (En-Nesyri, 62'), Suso (Munir, minuto 61) and De Jong (Carlos Fernández, 84').

GOALS: 0-1, 8': De Jong; 1-1, 10': Coutinho.

REFEREE: Jesús Gil Manzano, from Extremadura. Bookings for Pjanic and Gudelj.