Sevilla score first and make it awkward for 45 minutes. Then Raphinha scores a perfect hat-trick and Barça make it 21 points from 21.
The numbers
| FC Barcelona | Sevilla FC | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 70% | 30% |
| Shots | 24 | 7 |
| On target | 7 | 3 |
| xG | 3.47 | 0.4 |
| Corners | 3 | 1 |
| Pass accuracy | 90% | 73% |
Result the chances deserved: FC Barcelona 92% / 6% / Sevilla FC 2% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
FC Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Livaković, Eric García, Cubarsí, Christensen, Cancelo, Rodri, Pedri, Yamal, Fermín, Gordon, Raphinha.
Sevilla FC (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos, Iglesias, Sangante, López, Suazo, Kochorashvili, Agoumé, Sierra, Fofana, Correia, Ure.
Sevilla subs: Ejuke (59', Correia), Carmona & Isaac Romero (68', Sangante & Kochorashvili), Guridi & Alfon González (79', Sierra & Fofana).
Line-ups, minutes and xG: FotMob. Possession: FotMob 70%, 101 Great Goals 69%. Corners: LaLiga. Shots on target and pass accuracy: 101 Great Goals. With Joan García injured, Livaković made his debut, starting ahead of Szczęsny; Flick called it a one-off decision.
Key moments, move by move
- Correia gets the ball wide on Sevilla's left and runs at Eric García.
- He gets away from García and crosses to the near post.
- Fofana gets in front of his marker and heads it in.
- Christensen plays a through ball from the back into Raphinha's run.
- Raphinha takes it in the box and turns away from Sangante with a backheel (fcbarcelona.com).
- He finishes low past Vlachodimos. Barça are level three minutes after going behind.
- Yamal wins the ball back high up the pitch on the right.
- He chips a cross into the box.
- Raphinha gets between the centre-backs and heads it past Vlachodimos.
- Rodri breaks Sevilla's first line with a pass to Yamal between the lines (fcbarcelona.com).
- He slides Raphinha through behind the Sevilla defence.
- Vlachodimos comes out and Raphinha chips it over him.
Win it back high, finish fast: how Barça took over after half-time
- Sevilla's plan worked for a while. They were physical and direct and ran at Barça in transition. That made Barça defend on the break more than usual (The Football Xtra), and the opener came from exactly that side: Correia got past Eric García and crossed for Fofana.
- Flick's own verdict: the first half was below their level, and "we also gave away the ball too easily." Sevilla had only 0.40 xG all night, but for 20 minutes the space behind Barça's high line was a real threat.
- The second half: keep it, and when you lose it, win it back high. Barça ended with 70% possession and 24 shots. The goal that put them ahead came from Yamal winning the ball back high up the pitch and chipping a cross for Raphinha's header (Football España). The animation reconstructs that pattern; positions are approximate.
- Raphinha as the number 9. Starting centrally, he's harder for centre-backs to track than a fixed striker (The Football Xtra). He scored with his right foot, his head and his left, the first Barça player in 11 years to score a perfect LaLiga hat-trick (fcbarcelona.com). He now has 12 league goals in seven games.
Recreate it in FM26
FC Barcelona · FC Barcelona win it back high, with Raphinha as the 9 · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
FC Barcelona win it back high, with Raphinha as the 9
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Livaković | Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Eric García | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Cubarsí | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LCB | Christensen | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LB | Cancelo | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Rodri | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| LCM | Pedri | Midfield Playmaker | Pressing Central Midfielder |
| RW | Yamal | Wide Playmaker | Winger |
| AM | Fermín | Attacking Midfielder | Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Gordon | Winger | Winger |
| ST | Raphinha | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Attacking TransitionPatient Build-Up
- Build-Up StrategyPlay Through Press
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive LineHigher
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
The idea: Keep the ball, and when you lose it, win it straight back high: Yamal's regain and chipped cross put FC Barcelona ahead. Raphinha as a Channel Forward starts central and runs off the shoulder, which centre-backs find hard to track. You need quick centre-backs for the space behind a high line and wide players who press.
What FM26 can't copy: The first-half trouble came from giving the ball away cheaply, not from the settings, so FM26 won't reproduce the half-time turnaround.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Koundé on at half-time (for Eric García), Olmo on at 60' not 76' (for Fermín). Keep the high press that won the game, but add a second midfield screen and put Koundé on Correia at half-time, then bring Olmo on earlier. It doesn't change the result; it makes the awkward first 45 minutes less likely to happen again. It moves FC Barcelona's win chance from 92% to 95% (xG 3.47–0.40 becomes 3.67–0.22). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer FC Barcelona needed
Jules Koundé
Sevilla's goal came from Correia getting past Eric García, a centre-back at right-back. Koundé, unused, is the better 1v1 defender on the touchline, and García could then have moved inside when Christensen went off injured at 59'.
Jurriën Timber
The weak spot was Barça's right when Sevilla broke: a centre-back out wide against a quick winger. Timber has a centre-back's defending with a full-back's pace, is strong 1v1 against wingers, and can step into midfield when Barça have the ball.
What the analysts said
“It was a difficult game, especially in the first half. We also gave away the ball too easily a lot…”Hansi Flick (Kuwait Times)
“You can't always win by five goals. The best thing we did was recover from what we did in the first half.”Hansi Flick (Goal)
“There's no better captain than Raphinha. He is the best captain we could have.”Hansi Flick (beIN Sports / FotMob)
“As you know, sometimes it's not only about analysing everything. Sometimes it's also about the feeling.”Hansi Flick on starting Livaković (Yahoo Sports)
“He's very good and can adapt to any position up front. We give him the balls and he scores the goals.”Fermín López on Raphinha (Kuwait Times)
“We knew we were facing a tremendous opponent, one of the teams playing the best football in the world.”Gabriel Suazo, Sevilla captain (Kuwait Times)
A thrashing on the chances, but the first half was a warning.
What's happening. Sevilla scored first with their one clear chance and made it awkward for 45 minutes. Then Raphinha completed a perfect hat-trick, right foot, head and left foot, and Barcelona won 3–1 for 21 points from 21.
How it works. In the first half Barcelona gave the ball away too easily, and Sevilla's direct play turned those losses into attacks. After the break the system stayed the same, but Barcelona kept the ball better and won it back higher. The go-ahead goal came from exactly that: Yamal won it back on the right and chipped a cross for Raphinha.
What the shots say. Replaying every shot, Barcelona win more than nine times in ten. Sevilla's goal came from their only clear chance. The Raphinha move is hard to argue with: a striker who presses from the front and still arrives in the box like a winger.