Seville, December 22 (BNA): Second-placed Sevilla drew 1-1 with Barcelona on Tuesday, a result that helped Real Madrid take a five-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Playing in torrential rain, much-improved Barcelona attempted a second goal after Ronald Araujo equalized with a header in the 45th minute, but were thwarted by equally determined Sevilla, who were reduced to 10 men after Jules Conde. Show a straight red card at 64.
Sevilla took the lead after Papu Gomez tapped Ivan Rakitic’s corner kick and hit a low shot, Reuters reported.
Barcelona is seventh in the standings with 28 points from 18 matches, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
“I honestly think we lost two points today. We played better and deserved to win,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez told reporters.
“We were not lucky. They score in a steady play but we had many chances. The result, an away draw against a great team like Sevilla, is not bad. But it is a point that is not enough for us because we are trying to go up in contention. We let this win slip from our hands.” .
Barcelona dominated the first half and controlled the ball more and could score at least two goals in the first 30 minutes.
But Seville took advantage of the individual opportunity that came in the first half, as Gomez hit his powerful goal.
Sevilla improved in the second half but then had to switch to damage-limiting mode after Conde was sent off for a dirty display after a confrontation with Jordi Alba in the touchline. Pushed by the Barcelona defender, Conde threw the ball straight into Alba’s face.
“It was a very complicated match and we got the red card when we were giving our best. “Conde knows he made a mistake,” Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui told reporters.