In the first round of the two semi-final matches of the Copa del Rey between FC Barcelona and Sevilla, the latter took on the Catalan big team. Both teams lined up in something close to the strongest line-up for the match at the Estadio Ramón Sánches Pizjuán, where former FC Barcelona player Ivan Rakitic was able to take on his former teammates for the first time since his switch before this season.

In the first half, FC Barcelona usually had the ball the most, but neither the Catalans nor the southern Spanish hosts came up with the big chances in the opening phase of the match. The first goal of the match was scored after 25 minutes of play, when Sevilla's French defender Jules Kunde had somewhat surprisingly found his way to the edge of FC Barcelona's penalty area, where the Frenchman, after a nice tunnel on his compatriot Samuel Umtiti, kicked the ball hard behind Marc-Andre Ter The steps.

The rest of the half continued in the same style as before the opening goal, where FC Barcelona had the ball the most, but without it leading to chances for "Blaugrana". In the dying seconds of the half, Sevilla were about to take the lead 2-0, when the home team's Spanish left back Sergio Escudero with a long shot forced Ter Stegen into the match's best save so far.

After the break, Lionel Messi and co. still mostly on the ball, but unlike the first half, the Argentine superstar and the rest of Barca's offensive managed to come up with a small handful of chances. Ronald Koeman's team had room to play the ball around Sevilla's half of the pitch, but the completely open chances were missed.

Five minutes before time, things should get worse for FC Barcelona, ​​when Oliver Torres in the most distinguished way played the former Barca player Ivan Rakitic completely alone in a free-runner, where the Croatian in an equally distinguished way makes it 2-0. The Catalans pressed hard in the last minutes of the match, where especially Messi was close with a free kick, but it should not have succeeded for FC Barcelona, ​​and the match ended 2-0 to the home team Sevilla.

The result means that FC Barcelona will have a big task when they try to play in the Copa del Rey final in three weeks, while Sevilla, on the other hand, are in a favorable situation before the teams' next meeting at the Camp Nou. The return leg could end up being season-defining, as Atlético Madrid's firm grip on La Liga's first place and the ever-tough competition in the Champions League mean that the Copa del Rey may well be both teams' best chance of ending the season with a trophy.