Sevilla welcomed Barcelona this Friday for matchday 30 of La Liga. At the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, the hosts were able to stop the Catalan attack as both teams shared points on a 0-0 draw.
Wanting the victory to continue qualifying for next season’s Champions League, Sevilla started the first half trying to take control of the match. It was difficult, once Barcelona was putting pressure on the midfield and marking well. They had their first good opportunity at the 10th minute when Kounde hit hard and the ball scraped the right post.
With time, Quique Setien’s team started exchanging passes on the attacking field, because they knew the importance of the three points in the fight for the title. They almost opened the scoring on a free-kick from Lionel Messi, but Kounde appeared over the line to sent the ball away with a header.
Things continued pretty even, with both sides creating chances and bringing danger. However, the lack of aiming was being the main problem and they went to the locker room goalless.
During the early minutes of the second half, Sevilla continued putting pressure on the visitors. On the other hand, the Catalan club was having trouble trying to enter the attacking field, once the Rojiblancos closed their defense.
Both managers tried to change things putting new players on the pitch, but honestly, it didn’t work. The hosts were still pressing, but not being able to break the deadlock, because of lack of aiming and the good saves from goalkeeper Ter Stegen. Meanwhile, Barcelona were not able to regain control of the match. They even had some small chances, especially with Suarez, but missed. With that, the scoring finished as it started, with no goals.
With the 0-0 draw, Barca sees the difference to the second place decrease to just 3 points, leaving Real Madrid with the chance of taking the first place depending on the result of their match. Sevilla, on the other hand, remains in 4th place, with the same 52 points as 3rd place, Atletico Madrid.