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Barcelona welcomed Sevilla to the Camp Nou stadium on Matchday 5 of the 2020-21 La Liga, but the top weekend clash from Spain ended in a 1-1 draw.
Ronald Koeman kept most of his Barcelona playing-XI intact from the previous game as Lionel Messi played as the false 9 and was supported by Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and the 17-year-old sensation Ansu Fati. In defence, Ronald Araujo deputised for the suspended Clement Lenglet.
On the other hand, Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui started with the attacking trio of Lucas Ocampos, Suso and Luuk de Jong, with the former Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic starting against the club he left in the summer.
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The match started brilliantly with each side scoring a goal in the first ten minutes. The Barcelona defence failed to clear a corner kick and Luuk de Jong pounced on the rebound to give Sevilla the lead in the 8th minute.
However, just two minutes later, a Messi cross towards Fati was intercepted by Jesus Navas, but Coutinho was quicker than everyone else as he finished superbly in the top corner to put Barcelona level.
Unfortunately, the rest of the match didn't provide as much excitement as the opening minutes. Eventually both sides seemed pleased with a point apiece despite Barcelona's late flurry in stoppage time. On that note, here are the five major talking points from the match.
#5 Sergino Dest's arrival could spell the end of Sergi Roberto's days as a Barcelona starter
Sergi Roberto has been at Barcelona since he was 17 years old, going through the ranks at the Catalan club as a promising midfielder.
However, fate seemingly had other plans for the Spaniard, with the competition in Barcelona's midfield at the time proving too much for the youth product. Roberto soon found himself deployed as a right-back as the club struggled to replace Dani Alves after the latter's departure to Juventus in 2016.
Sergi Roberto has been able to maintain his spot in defence through sheer determination and hard work. But a section of the Barcelona fans have complained for his lack of technique and inability to support the attack at times.
On the other hand, young full-back Sergino Dest. who has just arrived at Barcelona, seems to have it all to succeed at the Camp Nou as he proved in his late appearance in the game against Sevilla.
Despite being deployed at his less favorite left flank to replace the injured Jordi Alba, the American added some much-needed pace and skills as Barcelona's tempo slowly improved towards the end of the match.
With Ronald Koeman as a manager, the 19-year-old former Ajax player could be handed a starting spot on the right side instead of Sergi Roberto sooner rather than later.
#4 Philippe Coutinho finally gets a fair run at Barcelona
It's fair to say that Barcelona's record signing has been one of the club's biggest disappointments of the last decade. During Ernesto Valverde's ill-fated tenure, the Brazilian had been mostly deployed on the wings where he failed to deliver on his enormous transfer fee or replicate his Liverpool form.
However, this summer, Coutinho returned from his loan spell at Bayern Munich as a Champions League winner. He had even played a part in Barcelona's humiliating 8-2 defeat against the Bavarian giants in the quarter-finals.
The arrival of Koeman seems to have changed the little magician's fate at Catalunya as the Dutch coach has played him regularly, and most importantly, in the latter's preferred position as an attacking midfielder.
Although Coutinho's performances remain far from ones during his golden days at Liverpool, the former Inter man is slowly regaining his form and confidence. He scored Barcelona's lone goal against Sevilla, which is definitely a step in the right direction.
#3 Julen Lopetegui's Sevilla might just be the next top Spanish team
Julen Lopetegui had a disastrous 2018. He was sacked by the Spanish federation just days before the start of the FIFA World Cup and then fired by Real Madrid as he lost the two biggest jobs of his career in the span of a few months.
However, last season, Sevilla offered the man a chance to redeem his career, and the Spanish coach has rewarded the Andalusians for their trust in him with an excellent first season that ended with a Europa League triumph.
This season, Lopetegui could be aiming higher still. His team began their season with a solid display against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup, taking the European champions to the wire, and then starting their La Liga campaign with two victories before nullifying Barcelona with another strong outing.
While Sevilla might not possess enough to threaten Barcelona and Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, it may not be impossible for them to challenge Atletico Madrid for the unofficial title of 'The Best of the Rest.
#2 Ronald Koeman fails to impress in his first big test at Barcelona
Although Sevilla aren't universally known as a top European side, the game against them could well be considered a real test for Ronald Koeman at Barcelona. After the easy routings of Villarreal and Celta Vigo, this one didn't go to plan for the Catalan giants.
Despite a quick start to the match, Barcelona faded away, failing to create enough scoring opportunities throughout the match. But the worst part could be the fact that the Dutch boss didn't seem too bothered with the situation as he kept making substitutions without changing the tactical scheme or the playing mentality.
The Barcelona faithful might forgive Koeman for his team's uninspiring performance against Sevilla. But the former Everton manager should be aware about the lack of patience at the Camp Nou and make sure that he makes the right adjustments in time for his next outing.
#1 Barcelona absolutely need to make new signings before the transfer window closes
We mentioned the coach's part above, now it's time for the administration. After watching Barcelona's match against Sevilla, it became crystal clear that the squad is lacking both in terms of quantity and quality.
With the Blaugrana needing to find the winner, Koeman's first two substitutions were youth products Pedri and Trincao. While the two youngsters didn't perform badly, they remain far from the finished articles who can be described as game-changing super-subs.
Thus, new signings are very quickly needed as the team is lacking in all departments. The club would do well to give Koeman two more of his compatriots in the form of Memphis Depay and Liverpool's Georginio Wijnaldum.
However, it remains to be seen if these two deals could be completed before the transfer window shuts on Monday night.
