3 reasons why Barcelona lost against Sevilla

The defending champions, Barcelona, are in serious danger of bowing out of the Copa Del Rey after suffering a 2-0 defeat at Sevilla. It was sweet revenge for the home team who were beaten by Barcelona in the finals of Copa Del Rey during the last two years. It is still only half-completed revenge as the return leg is still remaining.

Considering the way the defending champions have been dealing with the first leg defeats over the years, one could argue that they can still win the tie.

As the visitors came from a dominating win in the previous round of the competition, they were looking to secure the tie even without the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets. However, the home side was hungry to avenge their yesteryear losses in the competition at the hands of the Catalans.

The men in white looked razor sharp from the beginning. With a dominating display, they won the first leg 2-0.

Let us now look at 3 reasons why Barca lost the match

#3 Squad Selection

While Sevilla fielded their first team with most of their star players, Barcelona played a comparatively reserved team.

Omitting Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets from the squad looked justified with a pile of matches coming ahead for the side. However, several other selections were highly questionable.

Selections were speculative in two different aspects. One, La Blaugrana have always found the Copa Del Rey as a platform to groom their academy graduates. This match had only one academy graduate, namely Carles Alena. Also, he was given a tough task to play on the left wing. Moving a left-footed creative mid-fielder from right flank to left wing was not the wisest of moves from Valverde.