Barça shows pride and does not give up

Barcelona took pride in the key moment and won a game that can serve as a turning point in the Barcelona season. The blaugrana broke their spell against the tronío games and beat Sevilla 0-2 in Sánchez Pizjuán adding their seventh consecutive victory away from home, which means adding 39 of the last 45 possible points and provisionally placing second in the table surpassing by one point to Madrid and staying two behind the Atlético leader, but with one game more than the whites and two more than the colchoneros.

Koeman took a new step forward in the team's drawing playing with three centrals, two long lanes and sacrificing Griezmann. Perhaps the decision of the Dutch coach responded more to the need to find something that would work over surprising Lopetegui. Whatever the intention, it worked in both cases.

If we stick to the first option, it worked because the Blaugrana team was much more aggressive without the ball and brave, coming out from the beginning to pressure the local team's ball out. And if we look at the surprise to the rival, the position of Dembélé at the top as a center forward was fundamental, seeking to exploit his speed against Koundé. The Barça attacker was a toothache for his compatriot.

The tension with which Barcelona came out dismantled Sevilla's offensive capacity from the start, where Lopetegui opted to place Luuk de Jong instead of En Nesyri. In the first 45 minutes the sevillistas did not shoot once between Ter Stegen's three sticks.

On the other hand, Barça, after a few minutes of maximum concentration, gradually approached Bono's door. Dembélé warned at 22 minutes, Messi tried to surprise a foul while beating copper in an already classic duel with Diego Carlos that cost each one a warning in the first half.

When the game began to unravel in favor of the Catalan team, Dembélé's goal arrived, who took advantage of a measured pass from Messi behind the centrals. The Frenchman won the race and, for once, did not want to adorn himself with cuts: he shot Bono as soon as he was within range.

Barça overcame the scare that they always give themselves after scoring when Ter Stegen failed to get the ball out and gave a chance project to Papu, who failed to shoot leaving the game pending to see if Barça would hold up to the pace of play and concentration or if the tactical changes demanded by Koeman's drawing would work for Lopetegui.

The modification of the sevillista technician did not wait. Rekik, Suso and En Nesyri entered after the break. Beyond the change of men, Sevilla accepted Barça's stake and also started playing with three centrals.

But Barça not only endured the type, but also had opportunities to extend their advantage: Dest shot the post after a great team move and a minute later Messi wasted a ball that Dembélé served on a tray after another sensational ride.

Lopetegui needed another twist and spent the two remaining changes introducing Oliver Torres and Óscar. Koeman only moved the bench in the absence of 25 minutes, retiring Piqué, still in shooting, for Ronald Araújo to reappear. Five minutes later he was forced to remove Pedri, injured, to admit Ilaix.

In the last stretch of the game, Sevilla once again shook the Blaugrana team, which grew the dwarves when Araújo suffered from his left ankle injury. It had lasted 16 minutes on the field. Sevilla pressed, Barça, suffered with a team already under circumstances on the field that paid off with the second goal, as agonizing as the game was, from Leo Messi after leaning on Ilaix. The party was sentenced. Barça kept their pride and says they don't give up.