Spanish champions Barcelona suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat against Sevilla on 5 October at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, with former Barca forward Alexis Sánchez opening the scoring and Robert Lewandowski missing a crucial penalty.
The Catalans, unbeaten until Sunday, dropped to second in La Liga, two points behind Real Madrid, who beat Villarreal a day earlier, while Sevilla climbed provisionally to fourth.
Veteran Chilean winger Sánchez struck from the penalty spot after Ronald Araújo brought down Isaac Romero in the box, sending Wojciech Szczęsny the wrong way. Romero, who had earlier missed two chances, made amends by finishing neatly from Rubén Vargas’s cutback to double the hosts’ lead.
Marcus Rashford reduced the deficit for Barcelona just before half-time, volleying in Pedri González’s cross for his first La Liga goal. However, Lewandowski squandered the visitors’ best chance to equalise when he dragged his penalty wide after substitute Adnan Januzaj fouled Alejandro Balde.
Sevilla punished Barcelona’s wastefulness late on. José Carmona drilled a low strike into the far corner before Akor Adams sealed an emphatic victory for the hosts, leaving Hansi Flick’s side reeling from a second consecutive defeat following their Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite boasting more possession, Barcelona looked disjointed and sluggish throughout, struggling to cope with Sevilla’s energy and pressing. Flick’s half-time changes, including replacing Araújo and Gerard Martin with Eric García and Balde, failed to shift the momentum.
