A goal from Koundé and a deadly counter-attack defined by Rakitic gave Sevilla a massive victory in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, putting Barcelona on the verge of KO.
Sevilla-Barcelona, the first leg of the semi-final, leaves more doubts than certainties in the team of Ronald Koeman, which after a good career seems to have taken a step back in recent weeks in the competition that was more within reach.
The moments of Umtiti
– More than one, Samuel Umtiti had two decisive moments that determined the fate of the match. In the first he saw Koundé make a spout for the 1-0, in the second, into space in a game, he slipped and left Ivan Rakitic in the one-on-one against Ter Stegen and did not miss. Since returning from the 2018 World Cup in which France was champion, Umtiti is not the same, his knee suffers from many problems and has kept him out of the team for weeks. Now that his physical problems seem solved, his speed is different.
The eight victims
– As a result of the demand from the calendar, Barcelona appeared in the Sánchez Pizjuan with eight victims and had to set up a defense of the circumstances, with Junior Firpo, a left-handed side on the right, and Mingueza and Umtiti on the axis. Sergiño Dest, Ronald Araujo, Piqué and Sergi Roberto stayed in Barcelona; also Pjanic and Braithwaite, as well as Coutinho and Ansu Fati.
The ex’s revenge
– That the management of the dismissal of Josep Maria Bartomeu at the end of the season, to reduce the wage bill, was disastrous is not a perception, but a reality. Barça practically gave Ivan Rakitic to Sevilla (author of the 2-0 last night) and Luis Suárez to Atlético de Madrid (top scorer of the LaLiga leader). In last European season’s unfortunate 2-8 against Bayern Munich, Philippe Coutinho, on loan from Barça, contributed two goals.
Last chance
– The Copa del Rey is practically Koeman’s Barça’s last chance for a title this season. In LaLiga he is eight points behind his head, in the Champions League it seems he has no gas to compete at the highest level … Now in the cup he will have to come back.
The return
– According to statistics, it is not a chimera. Two seasons ago, in the quarter finals of the cup, Barcelona lost 2-0 in the first leg against Sevilla de Machín, at Camp Nou they turned the situation around with a resounding 6-1.