A goal from Koundé and a deadly counterattack defined by Rakitic gave Sevilla a huge victory in the first leg of the semifinals of the Copa del Rey to leave Barcelona on the verge of the KO
Sevilla-Barcelona, the first leg of the Copa semifinals, leaves more doubts than certainties in the team of Ronald Koeman, Who after a good career in recent weeks, seems to have taken a step back in the competition he had more at hand.
The moments of Umtiti
– More than one, Samuel Umtiti had two decisive moments, decisive in the luck of the match. In the first he saw Koundé make him a wrist before the 1-0, in the second, in a play in space, he slipped and left Ivan Rakitic in the one-on-one against Ter Stegen and did not fail. Since returning from the 2018 World Cup, in which France were champions, Umtiti is not the same, his knee is suffering from many problems and has kept him out of the team for weeks. Now that their physical difficulties seem to have been solved, their speed is another.
The eight casualties
– As a result of the demands of the calendar, Barcelona appeared in the Sánchez Pizjuan with eight casualties and had to put together a defense of circumstances, with Junior Firpo, a left winger 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 revenge of the ex
– That the management of the casualties 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 leader of Laliga). In the infamous 2-8 win over Bayern Munich last season in Europe, Philippe Coutinho, on loan from Barça, contributed two goals.
last chance
– The King’s Cup is presented practically as the last chance for Koeman’s Barça to win a title this season. Laliga is eight points behind, in the Champions League he seems to have no gas to compete at the highest level … Now in the Cup he will have to go back.
the comeback
– According to statistics it is not a chimera. Two seasons ago, in the quarterfinals of the Cup, Barcelona lost 2-0 in the first leg against Sevilla de Machín, at the Camp Nou turned the situation around with a convincing 6-1.