Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla: Gerard Pique hits winner as they equal Real Madrid record By Simeon Gholam
Last Updated: 28/02/16 11:28pm
Barcelona made it 34 games unbeaten as they came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 and equal Real Madrid's 28-year-old record. Vitolo gave Sevilla the lead midway through the first-half before Lionel Messi's free-kick levelled the game and Gerard Pique netted the winner just after half-time. Luis Enrique's side have not been beaten in all competitions since they lost to Sevilla in the league in October, levelling a record Real Madrid set for a La Liga side in 1988. Defeat for Sevilla, though, leaves them sixth in the table, 11 points off the final Champions League spot, while Barcelona extend their lead to eight points over Atletico Madrid in second, and 12 clear of Real in third.
The game settled into the expected pattern of Barcelona's attack against Sevilla's defence almost immediately, but it was the away side who had the better of the early chances before taking the lead with an excellent team goal after 20 minutes.
Vicente Iborra played the ball into Michael Krohn-Dehli, who beat the offside trap before charging forward and lifting a cross perfectly into the path of Vitolo at the far post.
And his finish was excellent, keeping cool under pressure to send it back across Claudio Bravo and into bottom corner.
Falling behind seemed to wake Barcelona up somewhat, and 11 minutes later they were level through Messi.
Luis Suarez was brought down on the edge of the area by Adil Rami, and Messi stepped up to swing one over the wall and into the stranded Sergio Rico's top left-hand corner. It was simply unstoppable from the man who netted two direct free-kicks against the same opposition in the UEFA Super Cup earlier this season.
And within three minutes of the restart, Barcelona were ahead through Pique. Not for the first time, Suarez and Messi combined superbly in the box before the Uruguayan picked out Pique, who slid it home from close range.
Coming back from behind at the Nou Camp is a daunting proposition for any side - especially one still without an away win in the league this season - but Sevilla had a golden opportunity to level the game almost immediately.
The lively Iborra's neat touch played Kevin Gameiro in behind Barcelona's defence, but the striker could do no more than hit it straight at Bravo.
It was to be Sevilla's last real opportunity to level, with Barcelona taking control of the game and forcing Sergio Rico into several fine saves in the Sevilla goal throughout the rest of the half.
Next up for Barcelona is a trip to Rayo Vallecano on Thursday night, while Sevilla host Eibar a day earlier.
http://www.skysports.com/football/barcelona-vs-sevilla/347817 [ 此帖被羅力亞在2016-03-04 07:25重新編輯 ]
