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| Barcelona players celebrate Ousmane Dembele winner |
It was a very tense and interesting game of football in Tangier but at the end it was FC Barcelona who prevailed as the Catalan Giants needed to pull off a magnificent comeback to see out Sevilla 2-1 in the 2019 edition of the Spanish Super Cup, hence, wrapping up their first title of the season.
World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele struck a wonder on the 80th minute to complete Barcelona comeback and win them the game after Gerard Pique had equalised a Sarabia opener in the first half. The win now means Ernesto Valverde’s men have started the season with a trophy in the bag.
Coach Valverde started a lineup featuring new signings Arthur Melo and Clement Lenglet while Philippe Coutinho started on the bench along with Ivan Rakitic. It was Sevilla who looked the brighter team and they took the lead through Pablo Sarabia in the 9th minute. Poor defending gifted the attacker a glittering chance with just Ter Stegen in his way and he sent a well-placed curler to beat the German goalkeeper.
Barcelona looked a bit off gear but got the equaliser before halftime thanks to Gerard Pique who was in good position to tuck the ball into an empty net after Lionel Messi’s freekick hit the post.
Sevilla started the second half the brighter side once again and hit the post through Franco Vazquez. Barcelona improved urgency as the game went on and got their reward on the 80th minute when Ousmane Dembele hit a bullet with his right foot from outside the box to put Barca ahead.
Sevilla got a chance to equalise on 90 minutes as Barca goalkeeper Ter Stegen conceded a penalty after fouling Sevilla winger Aleix Vidal. He got a yellow for the foul but made up for it immediately as he saved Ben Yedder’s spot kick in a rather comfortable fashion. Barca held on and got the deserved win and Lionel Messi lifted his first trophy as Captain.
