Sevilla FC did not turn out to be a real yardstick for FC Barcelona late on Saturday evening. Barça only had problems at the beginning as guests in Andalusia. But then the brute offensive power struck – Lewandowski included.
Barça coach Xavi had warned in advance and described the deceptive table picture – Sevilla FC only on one point after three matchdays – as false. And lo and behold, the Andalusians did indeed start boldly, played courageously and exerted pressure. There were also chances, but Rakitic missed them after Isco’s magic pass (5th), as did En-Nesyri (18th). Or better: Barcelona’s goalkeeper ter Stegen made outstanding saves in both cases and thus prevented the early and at this point not undeserved 0:1.
But as time went on, the Catalans dominated. More and more they took control of the set-up player Busquets and the attacking triumvirate of Dembelé, Raphinha and Lewandowski.
And, unlike Sevilla, they made it 1-0: after a strong ball recovery from Gavi, Dembelé picked up the pace before slotting into the path of Lewandowski. The Pole lifted the ball superbly over keeper Bono, Bernardo cleared too short on the line – and the lurking Raphinha dusted off the ball with his head from close range (21.).
Lewandowski scores and misses the brace
By the way, what was extremely noticeable: The home side often looked too passive defensively and gave the men from Barcelona too much space. Which was exploited once again: Lewandowski, who was served by Koundé, was completely alone in front of the penalty area and then did a great job in his usual strong manner: He took the ball from his chest before shooting directly into the left corner (36.). Koundé’s header (45th) and the too stubborn Dembelé (45.+1) also missed the 3:0 shortly before the break.
The goal came in the second half – and again the Andalusian defence looked bad: Raphinha, who was not attacked at all, was allowed to cross, the free Koundé crossed and defender Garcia pushed in freely (50th). That was also the final score, because Lewandowski missed his third brace in a row with two further great chances, each time despairing of the attentive goalkeeper Bono (62nd and 73rd).
Even so, Lewy’s start to the season was strong with five goals in four league games – as was FC Barcelona’s start with a draw and now three trebles in a row. The Champions League now continues, where Sevilla FC can find distraction from the current dreary league routine against Manchester City on Tuesday (9pm). Barça will try to master the start of the top flight the following day, also at 9 p.m. against Viktoria Pilsen.
