FC Barcelona wins in Seville (1-4) and is once again in control of its own destiny to win LaLiga

The dream of the LaLiga EA Sports title 2024-25 is more alive than ever for FC Barcelona. The blaugrana team visited the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán to face Sevilla, and with a total display of hierarchy and authority, they achieved a victory (1-4) that brings them dangerously close in the standings to Real Madrid and Atlético, placing them just 3 points behind the mattress makers and only 4 behind the whites.

The team led by Hansi Flick put on another show at the palangana ground, reaffirming their historical dominance over the locals and handing them a real thrashing, which ignites the championship race after the draw between the Madrid teams in the Madrid derby (1-1).

A troubled first half for Barça

The Barça came out like a 'storm' onto the pitch at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, aware of the importance of securing three points. Thus, in the 7th minute, Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring with a pure '9' goal, 'catching' a pass from Iñigo Martínez in the small area of the Andalusians.

However, seconds later, the team of García Pimienta took advantage of a defensive misalignment from the blaugranas during the kick-off after the Polish goal, and Rubén Vargas equalized the score, marking his first goal as a player for Sevilla.

The culé team tried to respond, but with little success. Lamine Yamal attempted to step up and showed several flashes of his brilliance, but a lack of precision and Nyland's reflexes prevented him from celebrating his twelfth goal of the season, sending both teams to the locker rooms with much still to define.

Ronald Araujo left the match injured

The negative note of the first 45 minutes, and of the day, for the Catalans is the injury of Ronald Araujo. In the 17th minute, the blaugrana defender was the victim of a strong foul by Saúl Ñíguez, who received a yellow card for the reckless foul committed on the Uruguayan.

The culé captain tried to rejoin and continue helping the team on the pitch, but five minutes later he was forced to leave the match, with Pau Cubarsí taking his place in defense. Initial examinations seem to indicate an injury to his right ankle, probably a sprain, although further tests will be conducted on Monday. The Uruguayan could be sidelined for two to three weeks.

Awaiting the club's official announcement, this setback represents another blow for the player, who had just returned to action last January. Araujo missed the first half of the season due to a problem with the right hamstring tendon, reappearing with the first team in the Cup match against Barbastro. However, if the worst predictions are confirmed, this issue could hinder his progress.

Lewandowski: the 'opener' for FC Barcelona 2024/25

With his goal in the 7th minute, the sixth he has scored against Sevilla in as many matches, 'Lewy' became the player who has scored the first goal for his team the most times in LaLiga this season (8). Following him is Ante Budimir (6 goals), while Kylian Mbappé and Julián Álvarez have done so on 6 occasions.

Additionally, Robert reached 19 goals in the tournament, maintaining the distance from Mbappé in the top scorers' ranking ('Kiki' has 16). This makes him the first player to score this number of goals in his first 22 matches of a LaLiga season since Leo Messi in 19/20 (also 19 goals), both wearing the blaugrana jersey.

Barça ignites the title race in LaLiga

Upon returning from the break, Hansi Flick made a move that would change everything for the Catalans. The German brought in Fermín López in place of Gavi, and the Andalusian responded once again. In the 46th minute, as both teams were just settling onto the field, Pedri sent a spectacular high pass to the heart of the area, and the '16' appeared to send it into the back of the net.

This goal from the midfielder, his fourth in the last five matches, tipped the balance in favor of the Catalans, who took control of the match. Vargas once again threatened the Barcelona fans with his second goal of the night, although it was rightly disallowed for a clear offside, and shortly after, Raphinha sealed the deal.

The Brazilian received the ball near the edge of the box, and after dribbling past Badé, he sent a powerful and crossed right-footed shot into the back of the net of Nyland, who could do nothing against the spectacular shot from the blaugrana winger, who continues to increase his tally and now has 24 goals this season.

From there, despite Barça playing with one less for over half an hour, the match opened up and the Catalans sought to increase their lead by all means, with Eric García finally getting the reward as the match was nearing its end. The dominance over their rival, who had no answers even while having one more player on the field, was overwhelming, and in a smart, forceful, and effective manner, the culés took home three points that ignite LaLiga.

The VAR sends off Fermín López... with controversy

FC Barcelona ended up with ten players against Sevilla (1-4) due to the expulsion of Fermín López in the 62nd minute. The 21-year-old player received a red card from referee Hernández Hernández for a harsh tackle on Swiss player Djibril Sow. Initially, the referee showed him a yellow card, as the '16' managed to deflect the ball before hitting the player from the Seville team. However, the VAR requested a review of the play, and the referee opted to overturn the yellow card, sending off the player from El Campillo for considering it a violent action.

For the blaugrana team, this was the third expulsion so far in LaLiga 2024/25, following the red cards received by Ferran Torres and Marc Casadó in the first half of the tournament. 'Tiburón' received a direct red card in matchday 6 against Girona (1-4) in the 86th minute, a match where he barely played 17 minutes (having come on for Lewandowski in the second half). Casadó, for his part, was sent off against Celta (2-2) after receiving two yellow cards in just seven minutes (75' and 82').

Barça puts pressure on Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid

The race for the LaLiga title is heating up. The blaugranas took advantage of the draw in the Madrid derby and dangerously closed the gap in the standings.

The whites maintain the lead with 50 points, but Atlético Madrid is just 1 unit behind (49) and the culés, after their great victory this Sunday, are only 2 points behind! (48) with 15 matchdays left to play.

Additionally, both the mattress makers and the culés will enjoy two weeks of 'rest' as they are directly qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League, while the whites will face a demanding two-legged tie against Manchester City that will entail significant physical and mental strain. Thus, the championship race is more open than ever and Barça is allowed to dream of their twenty-eighth Liga.

Technical sheet of the match:    

• Sevilla, 1: Nyland; Juanlu, Badé, Kike Salas, Pedrosa (Marcao, min. 87); Sow (Suso, min. 63), Gudelj (Agoumè, min. 76), Saúl (Bueno, min. 76); Lukebakio, Isaac Romero, Vargas (Ejuke, min. 63).
• FC Barcelona, 4: Szczesny (P); Koundé, Araujo (Cubarsí, min. 22), Íñigo Martínez, Balde; Frenkie De Jong (Eric García, min. 71), Pedri, Gavi (Fermín López, min. 46); Lamine Yamal (Gerard Martín, min. 89), Raphinha, Lewandowski (Olmo, min. 71).
• Goals: 0-1 Robert Lewandowski (min. 7); 1-1 Vargas (min. 8); 1-2 Fermín López (min. 46); 1-3 Raphinha (min. 55); 1-4 Eric García (min. 89).
• Referee: Hernández Hernández. He booked Sevilla players Saúl, Badé, Suso, Marcao and Romero, and culés Gavi and Eric García. He also sent off Fermín López.