Barcelona 4-1 Sevilla
It was a bittersweet night for Fermín López—he came on as a substitute, scored a goal, and was then sent off with a red card.
That was López’s story against Sevilla:
He entered the pitch, put Barcelona ahead, but lasted only 15 minutes before seeing red. Fortunately for his team, it didn’t cause any trouble. Barcelona cruised to a dominant victory, cutting the gap between them and the league’s top two teams.
Hansi Flick’s side secured a commanding 4-1 win away at Sevilla on Sunday night in La Liga, despite playing the final 30 minutes with 10 men.
Robert Lewandowski gave Barcelona an early lead, but Ruben Vargas quickly equalized for Sevilla. In the second half, Fermín restored Barça’s advantage before Raphinha and Eric García sealed the deal with goals of their own.
With 15 wins and 3 draws in 23 matches, Barcelona sit third in the league table with 48 points. Atlético Madrid are second with 49 points, while defending champions Real Madrid remain top with 50 points.
Early Drama and Quick Goals
Barcelona created their first big chance in the 6th minute when Pedri’s brilliant pass found Lamine Yamal, whose effort was denied by the Sevilla goalkeeper. But just a minute later, the visitors found the breakthrough. Raphinha sent in a cross, Íñigo Martínez headed it towards goal, and Lewandowski was there to tap it in from close range.
This was the Polish striker’s 19th goal in 22 league matches, making him the top scorer in La Liga, three goals ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé.
However, Barcelona’s lead didn’t last long. Sevilla responded immediately as Saúl Ñíguez broke the offside trap and squared the ball to Vargas, who made no mistake in finding the net.
Barcelona almost suffered another setback in the 16th minute when defender Ronald Araújo was forced off due to injury. He was replaced by Pau Cubarsí.
Despite dominating possession, Barça struggled to break down Sevilla’s defense. In fact, it was the home side who almost took the lead just before halftime when Dodi Lukebakio attempted a spectacular overhead kick, but Wojciech Szczęsny made a crucial save.
Second-Half Surge and Red Card
Barcelona started the second half on the front foot, and it took just one minute for Fermín López to put them back in front. He rose high to meet Pedri’s cross, heading it past the keeper.
Sevilla thought they had equalized again in the 46th minute when Lukebakio found the net, but VAR ruled him offside.
In the 55th minute, Barcelona extended their lead in style. Cubarsí played a clever pass to Raphinha, who weaved past one defender before curling a low shot between two more players to make it 3-1.
Just five minutes later, however, Fermín López’s night took a turn for the worse. After fouling Djibril, he was initially shown a yellow card, but the referee checked VAR and upgraded it to a red.
With the man advantage, Sevilla pushed forward, but Szczęsny made two big saves to keep them out.
In the 89th minute, Barcelona put the game to bed as Eric García headed in the team’s fourth goal, sealing a dominant away victory.
Sevilla, who suffered their ninth defeat of the season, remain 13th in the standings with 28 points from 23 matches.
