It was difficult to watch as both teams could not get a goal to liven things up. The La Liga crown is now Barcelona’s to lose when they could have extended their league at the top by five points.
While Barcelona dominated the opening exchanges, Sevilla struggled to bring the ball out of their half in the first 30 minutes of the game.
The Catalan’s best chances came from Lionel Messi’s freekicks and one of them was diverted over the bar brilliantly by the backtracking Joules Koundes.
Messi later escaped a yellow card for a bookable offence after Sergio Busquests and Fernando were booked for a feisty face-off between the pair just before the end of the first half.
Sevilla stepped up the intensity of their game after the break and Argentine Stalwart, Ever Banega.
A fierce drive in the Barcelona penalty area from Lucas Ocampos forced a great save off Marc Andre Ter Stegen and former Barcelona prospect Munir El-Haddadi also forced another save from the German shot stopper.
Antoine Griezmann failed to make the starting line up as Martin Braithwaite was preferred to the Frenchman. Braithwaite was however replaced for the final 13 minutes as Arturo Vidal was introduced in his place.
Sergio Regullion failed to convert the best chance of the game as the left back mishit a shot from close range with his weaker right foot, allowing Ter Stegen to collect the ball easily.
Luis Suarez played the full 90 minutes despite Quique Setien expressing uncertainty the Uruguayan’s match fitness. He blazed a left footed effort over in the closing stages when a chance was presented before him. Arthur was also introduced in the second half while Ruqui Puig also made a late entry into the game.
Barcelona now have to work hard to retain the title as the Los Blancos will be looking to close the gap against the Blaugrana in their next game against Real Sociedad tomorrow night. Barcelona will lock horns with Athletic Bilbao in their next match on Tuesday while Sevilla will clash with Villarreal on Monday.
Halif's blog 