Barcelona came from a goal down to beat Sevilla 3-1 on Saturday to make it seven wins from seven at the start of the 2026-27 season.
Time to check out how the players fared:
Dominik Livakovic – 7
Looked solid on debut, made a couple of good saves when the game was still in the balance and seems to be adapting well. Sweeper keeping and communication with the defence needs some work but a decent debut.
Joao Cancelo – 8
Seems to be improving defensively (at 32, quite impressive), did well to lock down an
electric Sierra and keep that side of the defence fairly quiet while also providing good attacking support.
Andreas Christensen – 9
Spectacular defensive awareness to clean up multiple tricky situations (except a couple fouls) and the assist to Raphinha for the equaliser was Pedri-worthy. Pity about the injury.
Pau Cubarsi – 6
Not his best day, switched off and let Fofana ghost in to score the Sevilla opener right next to him, and did not look assured or composed.
Eric Garcia – 4
Run ragged by three different Sevilla wingers (Correia, Ejuke, Alfon), failed to cover Correia on the cross for Sevilla’s opener and left acres of space on his flank because he kept drifting into the middle.
Pedri – 6
Distinct improvement on his Levante performance but still, nowhere near his best- maybe he needs rest? He hasn’t looked at his prime ever since the season resumed.
Rodri – 9
This was the kind of performance that shows why we splashed out to sign him — more than one important tackle (including a vital goal-saving crunch on Correia who had been let through after Eric was caught out of position) and finally dictating the game and providing a sense of calm and control in possession.
Gordon – 6
He’s beginning to seem a little one-dimensional now, works extremely hard but his end product is a little limited and he skied or missed multiple good chances to get his first Barca goal.
Fermin – 5
Ran a lot but didn’t really achieve much in any aspect.
Yamal – 9
Fired an early warning shot off the post and set up the second and third goals with some great individual dribbling and crossing. Pity about his finishing not being on point, and firing a freekick into the wall from an excellent position.
Raphinha – 10
I don’t think it’s controversial to call him the best player in the world right now. Scored a hat-trick, sat his man down for the first, a poacher’s finish on the second and chipped the goalkeeper for the third. Perfect.
Substitutes
Gerard Martin – 7
Came on relatively early for Christensen and did well enough, good passing and no errors.
Karim Adeyemi – 8
Rapidly beginning to love this guy, his pace destroys tired legs late, is a foul magnet and his dribbling seems to have improved a lot since his early Dortmund days when he was very one-dimensional. Now he scorches defenders and shoots without fear.
Dani Olmo – 5
Was supposed to be an improvement on Fermin but wasn’t – no major mistakes but no real particular influence on the game.
Marc Bernal and Gabriel Jesus N/A
Not enough time to do much of anything.
Manager
Hansi Flick – 8
Excellent team selection besides deciding to play Eric at right back. Livakovic was a good pick to start, as was Cancelo over Espart and the subs were at a good time to keep the intensity up. Also chose the right tactical setup.
