FC Barcelona vs. Sevilla, 2-1
In the wake of an ugly midweek loss to AC Milan and with Barcelona about to face two clasicos in a row, the coaching staff wisely decided to rest some key players in today's fixture against Sevilla. Thiago Alcantara started for Xavi Hernandez, Alex Song for Sergio Busquets, Martin Montoya for Jordi Alba, and David Villa for Pedro Rodriguez. Carles Puyol and Cesc Fabregas didn't even make the bench, instead watching the match with Eric Abidal from the stands.
The first half dragged on a bit, to be honest - neither team created any really close calls. Following a foul, Leo Messi almost scored a goal with a beautiful direct free kick, but the wind lifted the ball just past the top right corner of the net. But then in the 42nd minute, a combination play from a corner kick left Botia unmarked, and he bounced the ball down and past Valdes for the first goal.
Jordi Roura made a bold substitution at halftime, sending young Cristian Tello on for Alexis Sanchez. That seemed to me to change the whole tempo of the match. Tello has worked hard for his spot in the first team, and it shows - he is no longer just the speedy but one-dimensional striker/winger of last year. He opened the ranks of Sevilla's 10 man defense on the left while Dani Alves threatened from the right. In the 52nd minute, Dani crossed the ball perfectly into the center for Villa to head it in like a boss, and less than ten minutes later, Messi created a play from the middle, passing the ball out to Tello, who crossed it beautifully back to him for Barcelona's second goal. Kudos to Dani Alves for playing splendidly in both attack and defense, to Villa for his clinical header, to Tello for his pace and increasing maturity on the pitch, and especially to the coaches for taking risks and experimenting with the starting line-up and evolving formation.