Bad penalties on a bad day for Barcelona
Barcelona slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla on Sunday on a really tough afternoon for Hansi Flick’s side in Andalucia.
The visitors’ afternoon got off to a dreadful start when Ronald Araujo was penalised
for a penalty after just 13 minutes. The Uruguayan was left raging at the decision and it’s easy to see why. Araujo was battling hard with Isaac Romero for the ball in an action which ended with the Sevilla star hooking his legs around the Barcelona defender to ensure he fell over.
No penalty was given by match referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz but VAR decided to get involved and, after watching the incident for several minutes, finally decided it was a penalty. Araujo couldn’t believe it and sarcastically applauded, while the baffled faces on the Barcelona bench spoke volumes.
It was a controversial decision and one that Barcelona will argue long and hard against, but it wasn’t the reason why they lost.
Indeed if it hadn’t been for Wojciech Szczęsny’s impressive saves in the Barca goal early on, the game would have been out of sight before half-time.
Flick’s boys really wilted in the heat of Sevilla but did still have glorious chances to make it 2-2. Robert Lewandowski should have equalised but struck his penalty wide, while Roony Bardghji also missed an excellent chance to score his first senior goal for the club.
Instead it was Sevilla who struck two more times late on to secure their first win over the Catalans in 10 years and end the champions’ unbeaten start to the league season.
Flick’s worst week as Barcelona boss?
Sunday’s win saw Barcelona beaten for the first time in La Liga this season just days after being beaten for the first time this season in the Champions League.
Flick moaned about his team’s “Sh*t November” last year and will be hoping he’s not heading for a ‘Sh*t October.’ With Girona, Olympiacos and Real Madrid up next – he’ll need a response from his team after the international break.
Injuries haven’t helped his cause, while the saga surrounding Spain and Lamine Yamal (and Marc Bernal for that matter) has clearly riled the Barcelona boss and created plenty of headlines before Sunday’s match.
Yet questions are once again being asked of his infamous high line, with Sevilla following PSG in exploiting the acres of space behind the Barca backline.
Flick insisted after the game that he doesn’t think his system is the problem but something certainly needs to change if Barcelona are to win more trophies in his second season in charge.
Can Rashford keep it up?
The only real bright spot from Sunday’s match came from the left boot of Marcus Rashford and another goal from the Manchester United star.
Question marks still linger over whether Rashford’s loan to Barcelona will work out but the England star is certainly doing all he can right now to show what he can do.
Rashford missed a wonderful chance to make it 2-1 in the first half but then got Barca right back into the game just before the break with a wonderfully taken strike.
That’s now three goals and four assists from 10 appearances for Barcelona from the Manchester United loanee. Whatever you think of Rashford, there’s no denying those are great numbers from the new signing.
On a day when Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and Roony all failed to make any impact, Rashford was the most dangerous of Barcelona’s attackers and the fact he picked up a knock at the end of the game will be a real worry.
The big question now is also whether he can maintain these numbers throughout the campaign for Barcelona. If he can, then he will give himself an excellent chance of earning a permanent move to Barcelona from Manchester United.
