Three takeaways from Sevilla 1-4 Barcelona | OneFootball

After humbling Valencia 5-0 at the Mestalla, Barcelona took Sevilla apart, beating them 4-1 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan last night and took a massive step towards the league title.

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for his side on the night only to be met with an instant equaliser by Ruben Vargas in a lethal counterattack.

Fermin Lopez, Raphinha and Eric Garcia were the other players who got on the scoresheet, but Barcelona were still made to work hard especially given that they had to play a significant part of the game with ten men after Fermin was sent off.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways for Hansi Flick from Sevilla 1-4 Barcelona.

Elite game-management

While Barcelona started the game brightly last night, Sevilla were equally threatening on their counterattacks making for a level first-half that rightly ended 1-1.

As he has done so many times this season, however, Flick brought on the perfect changes after the break and saw that instant impact was delivered with the altered dynamic.

Bringing on Fermin Lopez for Gavi brought in a profile who attacked the goal more directly and constantly looked for runs in behind the defence. It is no surprise that the youngster got Barcelona the lead within minutes of coming on.

What was the biggest testament to Flick’s managerial skills, however, was the class with which Barcelona handled the game after going a man down, something they have struggled to do in recent years.

With over half an hour to play with only ten men, the Catalans did not break a sweat and continued their game unperturbed, so much so that it never appeared that they were in any kind of trouble.

Such was the confidence with which they defended and progressed in the buildup that it was they who created the better chances even after having a numerical disadvantage.

Transforming the mentality of the team to such an extent of months, needless to say, is the biggest testament to Flick’s elite managerial ability.

In fact, his decision to bring on Dani Olmo and Eric Garcia after the red card only made the game easier for Barcelona and it is no coincidence that both players had a role to play in the team’s eventual fourth goal.

Barcelona showed in the Super Cup final and again last night that they have what it takes to grind out a win even under pressure. Needless to say, such a mentality will be critical as the season advances.

Lessons at the back

Araujo was uncomfortable before getting injured. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

While the Blaugrana attack continued their usual business in the final third, the win over Sevilla had many takeaways for Hansi Flick from a defensive perspective.

For starters, Inigo Martinez returned to the starting lineup for the first time after his injury and the Spaniard made it very clear with his positioning, decision-making and distribution as to why he deserves to be a guaranteed starter.

In fact, he even played a crucial role in Lewandowski’s opener as he delivered the assist with a perfect header.

His partner at the start, Ronald Araujo, was decent at best and once again struggled to adapt to Flick’s offside trap tactic. Failing to hold his line, he often allowed Sevilla into the Catalans’ territory.

An injury cut short his night, but Araujo is clearly far from a starting role under Flick unless he improves his distribution and adaptation.

A third massive takeaway was the stability that Pau Cubarsi’s introduction brought to Barcelona’s game – something that is more reassuring than surprising.

The youngster’s entry into the dynamics and the restoration of his combination with Martinez saw Sevilla immediately begin to struggle in attack and Barcelona again began employing their offside trap to perfection.

Further, the team’s buildup from the back also significantly improved with Cubarsi and he even racked up a great assist for Raphinha’s goal.

The final takeaway at the back was Wojciech Szczesny’s strong display and perhaps his first solid performance for Barcelona with no errors. Not only was he fairly reliable with his distribution but also came up with clutch saves, making a statement as to why Flick prefers him.

The title race is on

With the three critical points taken against Sevilla, Barcelona took a huge step towards reclaiming the leadership in La Liga and the standings reflect the same.

The Madrid derby earlier in the week saw both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid split the spoils and drop two points each. Now, Barcelona are within touching distance of the leadership.

With 23 games of the league played and 15 more to go, the Catalans are on 48 points. Los Rojiblancos are just one point ahead on 49 points while leaders Real Madrid are on 50.

Should Barcelona be able to keep up their momentum in the coming months, it is only a matter of time before they take over control in the league title race once more.

After all, they have games against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to come and have the title in their grasp should they keep winning.