Barcelona produces a thriller in Seville

Woof! What. A performance.

That’s as good as Barca have played it this year and, in fact, it was possibly their best 90 minutes of the entire 2020/21 campaign.

Sevilla do not usually do very well against the Catalans in La Liga, it is true, however, they had not conceded in their last five games in the competition and Barça knew all about their strengths for a couple of weeks.

But something felt different from the start of Saturday afternoon.

Ronald Koeman is to be congratulated for his training and tactics to be spot on. The five-man midfield with Jordi Alba and Sergino Dest as willing runners completely nullified any threat from wide areas, while the constant high pressure brought the hosts down.

Photo by Fran Santiago / Getty Images

Apart from a 10-minute period towards the end of the game, in the run-up to Messi’s triumph, there was nothing Sevilla did that should worry the Blaugranes before Wednesday.

The difficulty then will be to keep them out, with an aim on the visiting side likely to spell curtains for cup ambitions.

That said, another day Barça could have scored at least another two or three goals if one takes into account Dest’s shot to the post, Lenglet’s offside, Messi’s unusual well-placed shot and Alba’s agonizing slip that did not get to the ball.

So maybe it is the Andalusians who have to be on their guard again.

Injuries can be a problem. Although Gerard Piqué had said in a post-match interview that he was fine and that he had left due to lack of minutes in the legs, things did not seem so positive for Ronald Araujo or Pedri.

Both youngsters behaved very well again, although the former only spent 15 minutes on the pitch.

Ditto Ilaix Moriba.

Photo by Mateo Villalba / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images

Straight to Bono with his first contribution, pointing and telling older teammates where to stand and who to score, and then playing that sumptuous assist from Leo … the lack of any kind of fear is the most enjoyable thing about this next Generation. .

There is a naturalness to his game that is not forced. Not very different from a young Messi, it must be said, and you have the feeling that Leo knows it too.

The magnitude of this result at this point in the season cannot be underestimated either, and it is a shame that Barça cannot see the game against Cádiz, as it would be more than beautiful now, even if Atleti has games. in the hand.

The Madrid derby can be crucial for the Catalans as long as they continue to contribute their grain of sand, and if Barça plays as they did on Saturday, it is an inevitable conclusion.