Barcelona’s unbeaten run in La Liga ends with heavy defeat to Sevilla

A nightmare week for Barcelona continued with a crushing 4-1 defeat away to Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium on Sunday, as the reigning  Spanish champions lost their chance to reclaim the top spot in the La Liga table from arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Sevilla dominated from the outset, taking a two-goal lead in the first half and adding two more late in the second. Barcelona had hinted at a comeback when they pulled one back right before halftime, but a series of missed opportunities left them frustrated.

Just three days earlier, the Catalan had suffered their first defeat of the season — to PSG in the Champions League. Now, their unbeaten La Liga run has also come to an end in Seville.

Barca coach Hansi Flick was forced to rotate his squad heavily for this match, with key players such as Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez, Gavi, and goalkeeper Joan Garcia sidelined due to injuries.

Sevilla immediately showcased their strength after kickoff, and the visitors suffered an early setback just 13 minutes into the match.

Barça captain Ronald Araújo fouled Sevilla’s Isaac Romero two minutes earlier — an incident initially overlooked by the referee. However, following a VAR review, the decision was overturned and a penalty awarded. Former Barcelona forward Alexis Sánchez stepped up, sending Wojciech Szczęsny the wrong way to give Sevilla the lead.

Sevilla continued to press aggressively, and Romero could have had a hat-trick had he finished several of his promising chances. During this spell, Szczęsny was kept extremely busy, making crucial saves to prevent further damage.

In the 36th minute, however, the Polish keeper was helpless, as Sevilla launched a swift counterattack. This time, Romero found the back of the net, and doubled his team’s advantage.

Barcelona created a couple of clear opportunities just before the halftime, but Marcus Rashford failed to capitalize despite facing the goalkeeper one-on-one, while Robert Lewandowski’s acrobatic attempt narrowly missed the target.

In added time, the Catalans finally pulled one back through a brilliant combination between Pedri and Rashford. Pedri sent a long, flying pass to the opposite direction, just outside the box, and Rashford finished it off with a superb first-time strike.