Barcelona 1-0 Sevilla: Player Ratings

Sevilla made the trip to north-eastern Spain to take on Barcelona at the Camp Nou in a podium fixture. The winner would get to keep second place – at least until next matchday.

The first half was largely disappointing from the hosts, who took time to grow into the game. In the final quarter, however, Barça were able to conjure up some decent scoring chances; sadly still unable to hit the net, though.

The second half followed the same pattern before Pedri eventually hit a screamer to break the deadlock. As Barcelona go second in the table, BU run the rule over Xavi’s men.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen: 6.5

ter Stegen was not called into action for a majority of the game. His contributions were limited to his distribution, which he carried out with finesse.

Dani Alves: 5

Far from Alves’ best night, who was a little too problematic for Barcelona in defence. His poor decision making gave away two chances in the second half. On the contrary, his switches opened up several avenues of attack.

Ronald Araujo: 7.5

Another tremendous outing for Araujo, who is evidently impossible for any Sevilla attacker. He bullied Ocampos and Martial off the ball multiple times and displayed a greater comfort on the ball.

Gerard Pique: 7

Pique made a few clumsy decisions through the game, but his experience came in clutch at other times as the likes of Jesus Navas, and Lamela broke on the counter.

Jordi Alba: 7

A decent game for Alba, who was creative with his passing variation. While he was inarguably one of the positives of the game, there were some moments where his decision making could be questioned in the final third.

Frenkie de Jong: 7.5

Arguably the best player of the first half, de Jong added lot of depth to the attack through his third-man runs. He was relentless in the press, and resistant out of it. Got into a great scoring position early on, only to see his header sail over.

Sergio Busquets: 6.5

Busquets looked slower than usual in this game and was often pressed strongly by Rakitic and Jordan. He could not dictate the tempo as he usually does, which is a cause of concern ahead of a huge encounter in the Europa League.

Pedri: 9

Pedri did not look his best during the opening minutes, but was by and large the best Barcelona player today – again. He created several chances through his vision, but undoubtedly the best moment of the game came when he scored the winner.

He controlled the ball on his left, faked one player, faked two more, and hit a stellar shot into the bottom corner. World at this feet, Pedro Gonzalez.

Ousmane Dembele: 9

Dembele was the most threatening player for Barcelona for most of the game, creating multiple chances. He created seven chances, including two spectacular ones for Ferran Torres and Frenkie de Jong. Eventually got his assist with an intelligent pass to Pedri.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 6

Aubameyang was relentless with his off-the-ball runs, but did not get the service he deserved, courtesy of Sevilla’s brilliant defence.

Ferran Torres: 5

One can keep praising Torres’ brilliant movement, but it does not do much with the finishing he showed today. Had multiple chances to kill the game, but could not bulge the net.

SUBSTITUTES:

Gavi: 6

Gavi came on with 15 minutes of regulation time to spare, and could not recreate de Jong’s impact in that little time.

Memphis Depay: N/A

Did not do enough to warrant a rating.

Nico Gonzalez: N/A

Did not play enough to warrant a rating.