Copa del Rey 2018/19: Barcelona vs Sevilla

There something funny that happens to Barcelona when they face an opponent wearing white at the Camp Nou that just flips the switch and the Catalan machine becomes unhinged. First, it happened to Real Madrid in La Liga, and now Sevilla have felt the same wrath.

All levity aside, it really was an entertaining night as Barcelona left nothing to chance and instead crushed their guests to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. Their hunt for a fifth consecutive title continues as yet another “remuntada” (comeback) made sure the Blaugrana entered the final four.

This tactical analysis will use statistics to explain how Barcelona put six goals past their Andalusian counterparts and ensured their hopes of a treble are still very much alive, now maybe even more than ever.

Lineups

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Cillessen  Sergi, Pique, Lenglet, Alba  Arthur, Busquets, Rakitić  Messi, Suarez, Coutinho

Bench: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Vermaelen, Boateng, Vidal, Aleñá, Malcom

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Sevilla (5-3-2)

Starting XI: Soriano  Carriço, Kjaer, Gómez  Promes, Banega, Arana  Amadou, Mesa  Sarabia, Silva

Bench: Vaclik, Ben Yedder, Marko Rog, Vázquez, Mercado, Javi Vázquez, Bryan

Coach: Pablo Machin

Barcelona’s setup

After a rather lacklustre defeat back in Andalusia in the first leg, Ernesto Valverde had a tough task of coming back from a two-goal deficit against a team having a great tournament so far. This meant that the rotation would be minimal, and we would see the return of most of the star personnel.

The likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suarez were back in the first-choice XI, with Jasper Cillessen the only odd one out. Once again, the Ant decided to deploy Sergi Roberto as his first-choice right-back, which seems to have become his default decision.

The team operated in a 4-3-3 system bu