Lionel Messi fails to mark Barcelona milestone with goal and other things learned from win over Sevilla

Andy West 02:15 05/11/2017
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  • Barcelona secured another three points at the Nou Camp courtesy a Paco Alcacer brace.

    The Catalan’s saw off a challenge from Sevilla to claim a 2-1 win with the Spaniard scoring both goals for the hosts.

    Here’s what we learned from the encounter.

    ALCACER BACK IN THE MIX

    Former Valencia striker Paco Alcacer has been barely used by Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde this season, starting just one league game before last night to prompt speculation that he was unfancied by the new coach and may be sold in January.

    But an injury crisis led Valverde to give Alcacer another chance in this game, with his first league start since August, and he could not have done anything more to restore some of the coach’s confidence than this hard-working two-goal display.

    Alcacer’s technical limitations are sometimes painfully obvious but he has the perfect mentality to perform in Valverde’s unusual version of 4-4-2, which required him to play on the right of midfield when the team was out of possession but then join Luis Suarez up front when the team was attacking.
    He fulfilled that physically challenging role with manful determination, tirelessly shuttling back and forth between defence and attack to make it clear he’s not going to give up on his Barca career without a fight. And, of course, two well-taken goals to claim three points won’t have harmed either.

    Paco Alcacer

    Paco Alcacer

    MESSI FAILS TO MARK 600TH GAME WITH GOAL

    Lionel Messi reached yet another milestone in this encounter as he played his 600th competitive game in Barcelona colours, and 70,000 fans inside the rain-soaked Camp Nou were desperate to see him mark the occasion with a goal.

    He came close, sending several threatening attempts just off target and firing one snapshot towards the bottom left corner which Sevilla keeper David Soria did well to save, but in the end he was unable to add to his, ahem, paltry club tally of 523 goals.

    Nevertheless, there were still several special moments from Messi on his milestone occasion, especially a winding dribble in the second half in which he appeared to beat the entire Sevilla team twice before releasing a pinpoint pass for Suarez, whose shot was deflected over the bar.
    And despite the unusual absence of a goal, Messi did more than enough to help his team towards three points which keeps them four points clear at the top of La Liga.

    Lionel Messi

    Lionel Messi

    FOOTBALL AND POLITICS DO MIX

    At times this felt more like a political rally than a sporting event as Barca fans made plain their feelings on the political situation currently engulfing their region Catalonia, whose government have attempted to claim independence from Spain but instead saw the leaders of that movement arrested.

    With Barca, it’s not just the case that sport and politics can mix – it’s more that the club has always been an inherently political organisation, and recent weeks have seen Camp Nou become one of the focal points for the independence campaign.

    That was the case again on Saturday night, with a giant banner depicting the Catalan flag being unfurled as the players entered the pitch, accompanied by banners demanding ‘Justice’. The club’s hardcore ‘singing section’ fans stayed outside the stadium for the first ten minutes, instead hanging banners stating ‘Free All Political Prisoners’ and ‘Europe Shame On You’ in their empty seats.

    The majority of fans also protested by maintaining a pre-planned silence for a few minutes during the first half, and it’s clear that Barca will continue to play a central role in this ongoing political saga.

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