Dembélé, Messi Secure All Three Points For Barcelona

Barcelona secured it’s seventh consecutive away victory in La Liga after a comfortable 2-0 win against hosts Sevilla, at the Ramon SAnchez-Pizjuan stadium, with goals from Ousmane Dembélé and Lionel Messi.

Barcelona dominated possession early and pressed well, limiting Sevilla’s opportunities to break into their half. They had to be patient against a resolute defence, but took the lead after 28 minutes when Messi’s clever through ball released Dembélé.

The Frenchman latched onto the ball and coolly slotted past Sevilla goalkeeper Bono after an amazing run.

In the second half, things livened up as Barcelona’s Sergio Dest hit the post in the 58th minute, while Messi shot over the bar after Dembele set him up two minutes later. Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet also had a header disallowed for offside.

The hosts thought they had equalised with ten minutes to go after Youssef El-Nesyri scored, only to see the effort ruled out for a handball in the build-up.

Later in the game, Messi picked up a one-two pass from Dembele and dribbled past a defender, finding himself one-on-one with Bono. The goalkeeper managed to save Messi’s first attempt to scoop the ball over him, but the Argentine striker pounced on the rebound and tapped the ball in to kill the game after 85 minutes.

Messi leads the race for the Pichichi – the title for highest goalscorer in La Liga – with 19 goals, three ahead of his former strike partner Luis Suarez, who has scored 16 for Atletico Madrid.

With that win, Barcelona overtakes Real Madrid to move into second place, sitting two points behind leaders Atlético Madrid, who now have two games in hand.

However, Madrid can once again regain second place if they win their game against Real Sociedad on Monday.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said after the game that the win at Sevilla sends “a strong message.”