Barcelona were forced to come from behind to take a 2-1 advantage into the halfway stage of their La Liga encounter with Sevilla this evening.
The hosts took a shock lead after just 15 minutes when Alberto Moreno finished off a slick passing move with an effort that deflected off Marc Bartra and into the back of the net.
It was almost 2-0 just six minutes later as Ivan Rakitic floated a free kick into the box that Carlos Bacca latched onto, only to see his header come back off the inside of the post.
Sevilla squandered another golden opportunity not long after the half-hour mark when Bacca got the better of Gerard Pique before picking out Rakitic in the middle, but the Croatian midfielder put his effort wide when he should have scored.
Barcelona took full advantage of that let off, albeit in controversial circumstances. Lionel Messi crossed a contentious free kick into the box, where it was converted by Alexis Sanchez from what appeared to be an offside position.
There was nothing controversial about the visitors' second, however, as Messi gave his side the lead at the break with a trademark finish from the edge of the box in the 44th minute.
Barney Corkhill
