Updated
Author of a splendid goal, the Spanish nugget allowed the Blaugranas to get out of the rut against Sevilla FC (1-0) and take second place in La Liga.
Pedri scored the one and only goal of the match, a brilliant inspiration.
AFP
Him again! The young prodigy Pedri allowed FC Barcelona to defeat Sevilla FC on Sunday at Camp Nou (1-0), on behalf of the 30th day of La Liga, and to overtake Atlético Madrid to climb to second place, 12 points behind Real Madrid.
Inspiration arose in the 72nd minute: while Barça were dominating without managing to score from the start, the young 19-year-old midfielder appeared at the entrance to the area, erased Ivan Rakitic and Diego Carlos from two feints, then adjusted a perfect cross shot low to the ground which came to lodge in the lower left corner of the Sevillian cages. A jewel that made his coach Xavi jump for joy and blew up the Camp Nou, very well filled (76,112 spectators) for this poster which opposed two teams vying for the qualifying places for the Champions League.
With this precious success, two weeks after the Clasico brilliantly won at the Santiago-Bernabéu against Real Madrid (4-0) and four days before their quarter-final first leg of the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday in Germany, Barça extends their six-game winning streak in La Liga.
It’s the first time Barca have found themselves so high in the La Liga standings since the start of the season. A fantastic comeback that bears the hallmark of Xavi: they went from 8th place on the 10th day, to 2nd place on the 30th day.
And here we are with a trio tied for second place in the standings: 12 points behind leader Merengue, who won 2-1 on Celta Vigo’s lawn on Saturday thanks to two penalties from Karim Benzema, FC Barcelona, Sevilla FC and Barcelona. Atlético Madrid each have 57 points. But the Catalans have the goal-average advantage… And above all, they have played one match less than the other three teams in the top 4.
Dembele reconciled with the public
Dominators from the start, the Blaugranas were able to count on a great night Ousmane Dembélé to animate the right wing. The French winger, not selected by Didier Deschamps during the last international window, was a hit at Camp Nou. From the 12th minute, his perfect cross for Frenkie De Jong was not improved by the Dutchman. And in the 43rd minute, the biggest chance of the first period was again the work of the French winger. His header was perfect, but Ferran Torres was too short to push the ball into the cage, and Jules Koundé cleared for a corner.
Despite some errors in the recovery, “Dembouz” had the opportunity to open the scoring a few minutes before Pedri (70th), but failed to adjust a ball centered by Sergio Busquets. Dembélé, warmly applauded at the announcement of his name before kick-off as well as at his exit (90th), thus revives for the final sprint of the season, three months from the end of his contract at Barça.
For Sevilla FC, this setback confirms the decline of Julen Lopetegui’s team: in the discussion to compete for the title at Real a few weeks ago, the Andalusians remained on four draws and one victory in their last five matches. With this defeat at Camp Nou, they almost said goodbye to their chances of coronation.
Earlier this Sunday, Betis Sevilla corrected Osasuna (4-1) at Benito-Villamarin thanks to two goals and two assists from Juanmi. The last two goals of the “Béticos” were scored by William Carvalho and Alex Moreno in the second period.
Thanks to this success, the Andalusians can continue to dream of a qualifying place for the Champions League: they are only four points behind Sevilla FC. The two rival neighbors will now fight for a place in the Champions League.
(AFP)