Barcelona 1-2 Sevilla: Blaugrana Humbled In First Leg Defeat

The champions are facing early elimination...

Jan 5, 2010 10:56:20 PM

More On :  FC Barcelona, Sevilla, FC Barcelona vs Sevilla
Lionel Messi, Diego Perotti, Barcelona, Sevilla, Copa del Rey (Getty Images)

Pep Guardiola gave most of his fringe players a start, with Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Pedro and Daniel Alves being the only regulars. Sevilla, meanwhile, played almost their strongest possible side.

Both sides struggled to create chances in the early stages, and it was Jose Manuel Pinto who was tested first, when he had to dive at full stretch to keep Romaric's free-kick out. Minutes later, Messi made Palop do the same, after unleashing from just outside the box following a trademark dribble.

Set pieces seemed to be the main threat from both sides, and Palop had to be alert once again to keep out a rasping drive from Alves. From the resulting corner, the ball eventually found its way to Messi, but 'La Pulga' could only hit the bar from a tight angle.

Just past the half-hour, there was a contentious decision when Diego Capel's goal was ruled out for offside. At first glance it seemed like an obvious decision, but replays indicated that the ball may well have come off Gabriel Milito's foot on the way to the Sevilla winger.

That proved to be one of the few major incidents in a largely uneventful first half, as both teams went into the break on even terms.

Both sides made a change at half-time, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic replacing Pedro, while Renato came on for the injured Jesus Navas. It was the Brazilian who had the first chance of the second half, when he shot straight at Pinto after being found in the box by Abdoulay Konko.

Sevilla looked the better side in the second period, and they duly took the lead on the hour mark. Diego Perotti burst down the left and squared the ball, which fell to Capel having touched Renato on the way, and the winger made no mistake in slotting past Pinto.

Barca were rattled by the setback, and they nearly fell further behind when another Romaric free-kick was nervously tipped over by Pinto. Then, with 20 minutes remaining, there was further controversy as Bojan had a seemingly legitimate goal disallowed, as Ibrahimovic was adjudged to have fouled Konko in the build up.

However, they would soon have their equaliser, as Rafael Marquez played an incredible ball over the top of the entire Sevilla side to find Ibrahimovic, who did well to round Palop and find the back of the net.

The Camp Nou erupted in celebration, but before they had time to sit down again, Sevilla had a penalty after Dymytro Chygrynskiy pulled Capel down in the box. Alvaro Negredo, who had only just come on, made no mistake, slotting the ball into the bottom right hand corner.

The match had suddenly come to life, and with ten minutes remaining, Xavi came close with a snapshot that went just wide. The Blaugrana had all the possession in the final stages, and Ibrahimovic came close with a header, before Messi wasted a golden chance by firing wide after being played through on goal. Finally, Alves had another goal ruled out after an extremely marginal offside call.

Ultimately, the hosts could not find an equalizer, and they now have it all to do at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for the second leg.

Arjun Miglani, Goal.com
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