Barcelona suffer shock defeat at Sevilla in La Liga

Barcelona’s unexpected nonaccomplishment to Sevilla drops the Spanish champions 2 points down Real Madrid connected La Liga ladder.

Sevilla thrashed Barcelona 4-1 connected Sunday, ending the champions’ unbeaten commencement successful La Liga and denying them an accidental to instrumentality to the apical of the table.

The Andalusian club’s archetypal league triumph implicit Barcelona since 2015 lifted them to sixth successful the standings with 13 points from 8 matches. Barcelona remained 2nd with 19 points, 2 beneath leaders Real Madrid.

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“It’s 1 of the happiest days of my life. We deserved to triumph from commencement to finish,” said Jose Angel Carmona, who scored Sevilla’s 3rd goal.

Barcelona made a muted commencement and had nary shots connected people successful the archetypal fractional an hour, portion Sevilla probed aboriginal on, looking to unleash Alexis Sanchez with agelong balls.

Sevilla took the pb successful the 13th minute, aft Isaac Romero went down portion jostling for the shot with Ronald Araujo adjacent Barcelona’s six-yard box, and the referee awarded a punishment to Sevilla aft taking a look astatine the VAR replay.

Sanchez sent erstwhile Arsenal teammate Wojciech Szczesny the incorrect mode to person the spot kick.

Szczesny stopped Sevilla from doubling their pb successful the 27th minute, redeeming Romero’s changeable from wrong the box.

Romero, however, doubled Sevilla’s pb 10 minutes later, arsenic Ruben Vargas sprinted past Barcelona’s precocious antiaircraft enactment to pursuit down a done shot adjacent the box, and crossed to the Spanish guardant who dispatched a first-time finish.

Marcus Rashford reduced the shortage for Barcelona precocious successful added clip earlier the break, hammering Pedri’s lobbed walk into the nett from a choky space with his near foot.

Sevilla’s Isaac Romero, right, scores their 2nd extremity against Barcelona successful the 37th infinitesimal [Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters]

Lewandowski misses penalty

Barcelona pushed guardant successful the 2nd fractional and were handed an accidental to equalise erstwhile Adnan Januzaj brought down Alejandro Balde successful the box, but Robert Lewandowski fired wide from the punishment spot successful the 76th minute.

The visitors’ hopes of salvaging a constituent ended successful the 90th infinitesimal erstwhile Carmona changeable done a defender’s legs to find the nett and enactment Sevilla 3-1 ahead.

Second-half substitute Akor Adams made it 4-1 5 minutes into added time, scoring from Chidera Ejuke’s pass.

“We lacked intensity, we couldn’t get the shot retired of our half, we didn’t cognize what to bash with the shot … we were ne'er astatine our best,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri said.

“We request to amended a batch of things truthful that we tin commencement winning games again aft the break.”

Sevilla, who person won 2 games successful a row, volition proceed their league run aft the planetary interruption against Mallorca connected October 18, the aforesaid time Barcelona big Girona.

Lewandowski’s failed punishment footwear successful the 76th minute, with Barcelona trailing 2-1 astatine Sevilla, dashed the Catalonian side’s ambition of returning to the apical of the La Liga standings [Fran Santiago/Getty Images]