Sevilla 0-2 Barcelona: Three Things We Learned

Sevilla’s quest to win the La Liga title this season suffered a blow on Saturday afternoon, as they went down 2-0 to Barcelona at home.

Ousmane Dembele put Barcelona in the lead after 29 minutes when Lionel Messi put him through on goal at Estadio Raman Sanchez Pizjuan.

Argentine forward Messi himself doubled the advantage for the Blaugrana five minutes before the full-time whistle.

There could have been more goals in the La Liga game in Andalucia.

Sergino Dest hit the post for Barcelona, and his Barcelona teammate Clement Lenglet had a headed goal disallowed for offside. Youssef En-Nesyri also had a goal for Sevilla ruled out for offside.

The result means that Barcelona are now second in the La Liga table with 53 points from 25 matches.

Ronald Koeman’s side are a point and a place ahead of defending champions and bitter rivals Real Madrid, who have played 24 games.

Barcelona are also two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, who have played 23 games and remain favourites for the champions with odds of 4/5 in their favour, according to Betfair.

As for Sevilla, they are now fourth in the La Liga table with 48 points from 24 matches.

Here are the three things we learned from Barcelona’s win against Sevilla on Saturday.

Lionel Messi is far from finished

Lionel Messi has not always hit the headlines this season, and some have asked whether the legend is past his prime. The Barcelona star may not be at his very best these days, but the 33-year-old remains one of the best in the world and is far from finished. Against Sevilla on Saturday, according to WhoScored, Messi took four shots, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 90.3%, took 94 touches, attempted seven dribbles, made two tackles and one interception, and put in two crosses.

Ronald Koeman must be praised

True, Barcelona are likely to go out of the Champions League soon, but who it comes to the La Liga title race, manager Ronald Koeman has done well and must be praised. At the start of the season, it looked like the former Spanish and European champions may not even finish in the top four, and now the team are very much in the running for the title. Messi seems to be playing well, and Koeman must be given credit.

Title chances over for Sevilla

Not many will have seriously backed Sevilla to win the La Liga title this season, and their defeat to Barcelona at home on Saturday showed that they are not equipped to challenge for the likes of Atletico and Madrid for the championship. However, the Andalusian club are very much in the running for the top four.