Barcelona humiliated at Sevilla: Struggles without Lamine Yamal allow Real Madrid to take command in LaLiga

Barcelona’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat at Sevilla on Sunday means Real Madrid are currently leading LaLiga and have all of the momentum ahead of the international break. The team coached by Hansi Flick lost their opportunity to be at the top of the standings heading into the second international break of the season, looking inconsistent in the process. After eight league games, Real Madrid are leading with a two-point margin on Barcelona after Flick’s first defeat of the LaLiga season and the second one in a row after the Champions League loss against PSG, 2-1, that took place on Wednesday. The two Spanish giants will meet for the first time this season later this month, on Oct. 26, for what will become a key clash for the title race.  

Barcelona faced Sevilla on Sunday without Lamine Yamal, as the Spanish star missed the match after “aggravating an injury to his pubic area,”  the club announced on Friday ahead of the match, which will also mean he will miss the matches with Spain during the break. 

On Sunday, the Blaugrana conceded twice in the first half before Marcus Rashford’s goal, but in the second half, Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty, and then the home side managed to score two more goals before the final whistle. Sevilla, which won their first league match against Barcelona in 10 years, did a favor for Real Madrid, who are now back leading the standings after winning on Saturday 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu against Villarreal. 

Speaking to the press after the Sevilla match, Flick spoke about the disappointing performance of his team.

“The first half wasn’t good for us. They played one-on-one and were very aggressive. We had no solutions, which isn’t good. But in the second half, I really appreciated the team’s reaction. I don’t want to talk about the two goals, we don’t want excuses. We have to focus on the first half, but the most important thing is the reaction. This defeat is important, and after the break, we will fight for all the titles. That’s what we want — we’re a good team. I’m not angry; everyone saw the situation. I don’t want to argue about it. In the second half, we played well. Now we have to keep going. We don’t like losing 4–1, it’s tough, but in the end, it’s just one game.”