No, it's no excuse, by no means: the hot notes from Sevilla-Barça

BarcelonaBarça's second defeat this week. After falling to PSG in the Champions League, The Blaugranas were thrashed 4-1 at Sevilla on a very unfortunate afternoon. With that scoreline, Real Madrid regains the lead in La Liga. Here are some quick notes.

It was Sevilla, not the European champion. If Isaac Romero, the home side's striker, had been a bit more inspired, Barça would have gone into the break with an impossible-to-overcome lead. The second half would have been a mere formality. The Blaugranas appeared in Nervión with their worst performance of the Flick era. More than the first half at the Pizjuán, at times it seemed as if they were playing the third half against PSG, Wednesday's Champions League opponent. Refereeing and environmental factors aside, the play and pressing were subpar against a mid-table opponent struggling to win at home. The absences of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Fermín also do nothing to explain the sluggishness displayed, especially in the opening stretch. Internal reflection is needed now.

It's no excuse. Continuing with the previous point, if Barça had to drag themselves back in La Liga, it was primarily due to their own failure. However, saying this is entirely compatible with pointing out that the 1-0 lead, scored by former Barça player Alexis Sánchez, shouldn't have been allowed on the scoreboard. The Chilean converted a highly questionable penalty by Araujo on Romero, which the VAR, led by Madrid's Del Cerro Grande, recommended being reviewed. Muñiz Ruiz penalized the fall with poor judgment and then, incidentally, let play continue in the buildup to the 2-0. Kounde was too soft on Suazo, who took the ball away from him with all the tension that Flick's undeniably daring plan demands to be implemented without being shorn of it.

The starting duo. A Rashford goal in first-half stoppage time kept Barça in the game, something Flick took advantage of to try to turn the game around not with forwards but with defenders. The German recognized that Araujo and Gerard Martín's shortcomings with the ball were a boon for a Sevilla side that had Pedri and De Jong well under control, with man-to-man marking. Thus, he brought Eric Garcia and Balde off the bench to give them more options when coming out from the back. With the two Catalans on the pitch, the team improved considerably, but not enough to avoid their first La Liga defeat of the season. With Iñigo out, Christensen—not Araujo—should be the first option to breathe life into the starting center-back pairing. The Uruguayan isn't compatible with the risk. Because then what happens, happens.

The thrashing is exaggerated. With Barça desperately searching for an equalizer, and after another epic victory, Sevilla played their cards well, but not enough to end up thrashing the Catalans with an embarrassing 4-1 scoreline. The rout is welcome if it helps Flick put things in order and a comeback is a given after the stoppage. However, it's fair to say that everything went wrong under the Andalusian sun—more than 30 degrees at kickoff—with a penalty missed by Lewandowski being part of the mix and an incomprehensible finish by Bardghji after a fantastic run from the right wing. They need to pick themselves up and regain their strength and strength to take the lead on October 26 at the Bernabéu.