Barcelona 3-0 Sevilla: Three Things We Learned

Barcelona have got the better of Sevilla 3-0 after extra time to book their place in the Copa del Rey final.

Ronald Koeman’s side won the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie 3-0 after extra time at Camp Nou to go through to the final 3-2 on aggregate.

Sevilla headed into the second leg on Wednesday evening with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg last month.

The Andalucian club were expected to hold on for the second leg and go through to the final, but Barcelona turned on the style.

Ousmane Dembele put the Blaugrana in the lead after just 12 minutes before Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved a penalty from Lucas Ocampos.

Sevilla went down t0 10 men when Fernando was sent off in the second minute of injury time, and then in the fourth minute of injury time, Gerard Pique made it 2-0 to Barcelona.

That saw the tie level at 2-2, and then in the opening minutes of the extra-time period, Martin Braithwaite headed home for what proved to be the decisive goal.

The visiting team were reduced to nine men in the 103rd minute when Luuk de Jong was dismissed.

Barcelona will now face Athletic Bilbao or Levante in the final of the Copa del Rey and are favourites to win, with rating their chances of lifting the trophy rated at 1/4 by Betfair.

This is what we learned from Barcelona’s dramatic win against Sevilla on Wednesday evening:

Martin Braithwaite can still be an important figure

Martin Braithwaite has become somewhat of a figure of joke among many. The way Barcelona signed him from Leganes in February 2020 and then did not use him much for the rest of the season left many amused. The fact that a player who was struggling to make an impact at Middlesbrough was now playing in the same team as Lionel Messi also led to some laughter. However, as the 29-year-old forward showed with his diving header against Sevilla on Wednesday evening, he can still be important for the Blaugrana. True, Braithwaite may not be a superstar or bang in the goals for fun, but he can still contribute.

Barcelona should be feared

Barcelona are not the force they were a few years ago and are unlikely to get past Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League this season after their 4-1 defeat in the first leg, but on the domestic front, they should be feared. Koeman’s side have improved a lot since the opening weeks of the season, and now they have a very good chance of winning a major trophy, the Copa del Rey. In fact, Barcelona are also contenders for the La Liga title. The former European champions are now five points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand.

Boost for Ousmane Dembele

Ousmane Dembele has had serious injury problems at Barcelona since his move from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, and that is a big reason why the France international forward has not made a massive impact at Camp Nou. However, his goal against Sevilla on Wednesday evening will have given him a massive boost. There is no doubt that the 23-year-old is a brilliant footballer. What he needs is to be injury-free and to get a run in the team.