Seville offered Barcelona a noisy, unforgiving evening at the Pizjuán, but Raphinha again turned the occasion into his own. The Brazilian struck three times in a display that carried Barça through a match complicated by an early Sevilla goal, a goalkeeping surprise and another injury concern at the back.
A Croatian debut and an early setback
With Joan García unavailable, Hansi Flick handed Dominik Livaković his Barcelona debut rather than selecting Wojciech Szczęsny. The Croatian’s first serious test ended in a Sevilla goal, but he recovered calmly thereafter, making the saves expected of him and keeping his distribution uncomplicated.
- Sevilla’s Félix caused Eric García particular difficulty by drifting wide to create room for himself.
- Eric found the contest more manageable after Ejuke became his direct opponent.
- Jules? No, Barcelona’s defensive authority came chiefly from Pau Cubarsí, who was strong in his positioning, passing and challenges.
- At 0-0, Cubarsí nearly reached a close-range opportunity, although Castrín challenged him in an incident that appeared open to debate.
- Rodri made an important defensive intervention shortly before half-time to stop a Sevilla opening that looked likely to produce a goal.
Andreas Christensen’s evening brought a more troubling note. Having accumulated enough minutes to strengthen his case for a regular place, the Danish defender was forced off injured. His disappointment was visible as he sat on the bench, with Gerard Martín entering immediately and making an energetic contribution in and out of possession.
Raphinha’s latest burst in Seville
Barcelona’s response was driven by Raphinha, whose second hat-trick in four days took his season’s total to 12 goals. His equaliser and his third goal were finishes of sharp movement and instinct, while another came from a traditional centre-forward’s header. He also struck the post directly from a corner, narrowly missing an Olympic goal.
The Pizjuán, hostile for much of the night, applauded Raphinha when he was substituted. Lamine Yamal had supplied much of the creative disturbance around him, repeatedly generating shooting chances for himself, hitting the woodwork and helping create two of Raphinha’s goals.
- Lamine’s performance was shaped by the whistles from the home stands, to which he responded with a gesture before continuing to unsettle Sevilla on the pitch.
- He also fashioned an opportunity that should have resulted in a Gordon goal.
- Gordon’s tactical flexibility remained valuable, and he eventually operated as the central forward, but he was unable to convert a late chance despite his determination to reach it.
- Fermín López covered vast ground in what amounted to a personal mini-derby for the former Real Betis youth player, pressing and competing while Sevilla still had belief.
Midfield recovery and impact from the bench
Pedri endured an uncharacteristically uneven first half, including a moment when he missed the ball in front of goal and several misplaced simple passes. After the interval, however, his command returned quickly and Barcelona looked more assured with the ball.
João Cancelo had already produced a decisive recovery action shortly before Barcelona’s equaliser, preventing what might have been a Sevilla second goal. His attacking influence increased after the break, though he did not reproduce the shooting impact he had shown against Racing.
Fermín was replaced after an exhaustive shift, having produced one particularly determined run that deserved an assist even though the move did not end in a goal. Dani Olmo then brought immediate quality in a short appearance, forcing Odysseas Vlachodimos into a save from an angled free-kick and playing an excellent pass for Karim Adeyemi.
Fresh energy for Barcelona’s closing stages
Adeyemi nearly added another impressive goal, only for Vlachodimos to deny him with a major save. The forward’s start to the campaign has been striking, even if his return might already have been higher.
- Marc Bernal continued to receive managed minutes, with Rodri now established in Flick’s preferred starting midfield and Bernal helping maintain energy late in matches.
- Gabriel Jesus was also introduced, but the Brazilian striker did not find the net during his brief outing.
- Livaković’s debut, Christensen’s injury and Raphinha’s remarkable scoring run ensured that Barcelona left Seville with far more than one storyline from the night.
