Barcelona key talking points: Messi loves scoring vs Sevilla, Griezmann faces fight for starts, Dembele red card harsh

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Ben Hayward7 October 2019

Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 4-0 at Camp Nou on Sunday night and head into the international break just two points behind Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Goals from Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi gave the champions an emphatic victory, although Sevilla missed several good chances to score earlier in the game.

Barca ended up with nine men as debutant Ronald Araujo and Dembele were sent off in the closing stages, while Gerard Pique picked up a yellow card which means he is suspended for the Catalans' trip to Eibar later this month.

Ernesto Valverde's side now have 16 points from their eight games and trail Los Blancos by just two, with the rivals to meet in the 10th round of the competition at Camp Nou on October 26.

Messi loves scoring against Sevilla​

REUTERS

Lionel Messi had not scored for Barcelona in 2019-20 after an injury-hit start to the season, but the arrival of Sevilla at Camp Nou must have felt like a good omen for the Argentine and so it proved as he netted for the 37th time against the Andalusian club.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had 36 goals in 37 games versus Sevilla prior to this game and made it 37 in 38 as he curled home a stunning free-kick in the 78th minute, that after coming close earlier in the second half with a wonderful run and shot which Tomas Vaclik kept out at full stretch.

Messi stood still and punched the air after his goal in a celebration which seemed to be a release of rage after his recent troubles. It is a timely return to form and fitness for the world's finest footballer, with the Clasico against Real Madrid just around the corner.

"So important," Vidal said after the game. "We all know what Leo means to this team and what he needs. Having Leo in good shape helps us so much." And Valverde said: "Leo accumulates goals. When he gets into his rhythm, he will be closer to goal." Which is ominous news for everyone else...

Griezmann faces fight for starting spot after being benched

AFP via Getty Images

Antoine Griezmann had started all of Barcelona's nine games so far in 2019-20, but was substituted in the last two of those (against Getafe and Inter Milan) and was relegated to the bench for the visit of Sevilla on Sunday.

And while it may be that the French forward is tired and needed a rest, the fact is that he was not really missed as Valverde's side comfortably beat Sevilla and also racked up the goals in his absence.

The €120 million summer signing from Atletico Madrid has struggled so far for Barca, having played mostly out on the left, and may see his opportunities in the centre restricted by the form of Suarez, who scored a brilliant overhead kick to open the scoring on Sunday.

With Dembele back, Messi fit again after injury and Ansu Fati an unused substitute on Sunday, Griezmann could now face a fight for his place in the starting XI. With only three goals so far and some indifferent displays, there are no guarantees for the €120m man.

Dembele was right about Mateu Lahoz

AFP via Getty Images

Ousmane Dembele scored a fine goal against Sevilla in the first half as he raced into the area, cut the ball back and found space between Diego Carlos and Daniel Carrico before firing past Vaclik, but the Frenchman's night will be remembered for the wrong reasons as he was sent off near the end of the game.

Dembele was protesting the red card shown to debutant Ronald Araujo, the young defender harshly dismissed for a foul on Javier Hernandez as the Mexican went through on goal. The winger said something to referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz as the Barca players challenged the decision and the Valencia-born official did not hesitate in showing him a red as well.

"I don't what he could have said," Valverde admitted after the game. "More than anything because I find it hard to talk to Dembele (in Spanish)..." That brought laughter in the press room, but Barca's fans did not see the funny side and booed the offiicials off the pitch at full-time. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old could now be banned for the Clasico.

In the referee's report, it was claimed that Dembele was dismissed for telling Mateu Lahoz "you are very bad", which hardly seems like a red card offence when other players are routinely let off for constant abuse and insults aimed at the officials. And in any case, the French forward was spot on here in his assessment of this particular referee. Both dismissals were needless.

Sevilla (and Luuk de Jong) could have scored three or four

REUTERS

The scoreline does not really tell the story of this match. Barcelona's win was ultimately comfortable and emphatic, yet it may have been different if Sevilla had taken their chances early on in the game.

Striker Luuk de Jong got into great positions, but missed four of his side's best openings on Sunday: the Dutch forward saw a shot superbly saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen early on, sliced terribly wide following a corner after that, later sent a header into the turf and over the bar and hit the post with another effort in the second half.

While it may not be a completely accurate metric by which to analyse a game, Sevilla's xG (expected goals ratio, which looks at the quality of the chances created) for the 90 minutes was actually higher than Barca's by 3.36 to 2.50.

That is perhaps a reflection of how Barca's goals owed more to individual brilliance than to excellent all-round team play, while it also highlighted difficulties in defence as Pique moved across to left centre-back in the absence of Clement Lenglet, Todiibo came in for a rare start and Nelson Semedo started at left-back. Nevertheless, it also showed that the scoreline was much more convincing for Barca than the performance itself.

Miserable return to Camp Nou for Julen Lopetegui

AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

Julen Lopetegui was sacked by Real Madrid in late October last year after his side were thrashed 5-1 by Barcelona in the Clasico at Camp Nou. And on his return to the same stadium with Sevilla, he witnessed yet another four-goal drubbing on Sunday.

"It's a devastating punishment," the Sevilla coach said after the game. "I don't like to use the word unfair, but it was undeserved. I think we were brave, but we weren't good enough in front of goal."

Lopetegui said he and his players had been looking forward to the trip to Camp Nou and revealed he was happy about how his team had played in the opening half hour and again after a change of system in the second half.

Despite the defeat, Sevilla are still sixth in La Liga and just three points behind Barca in what has been a positive start to the season for Lopetegui and his new club. But after conceding nine goals on his last two visits to Camp Nou, he might be pleased to have this fixture out of the way until next season.

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