Copa del Rey: Sevilla beats Barcelona in Messi's 900th game

Taking advantage of a quiet game from Lionel Messi in his 900th career match, Sevilla defeated Barcelona 2-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday.

Messi squandered a couple of chances as Sevilla won its eighth consecutive match in all competitions thanks to a goal by Jules Koundé in the first half and another by former Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic near the end.

The second leg will be on Feb. 27 at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona. Athletic Bilbao hosts Levante on Thursday in the first leg of the other semifinal.

Sevilla's Jules Kounde, second right, kicks the ball to score his side's first goal during a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville , Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP PhotoAngel Fernandez)

Sevilla and Barcelona entered the semis as the hottest teams in Spain. The Catalan club was coming off six straight wins in all competitions.

The teams played in the Copa final in 2016 and 2018, with Barcelona coming out on top both times. The Catalan club is trying to make it to its ninth final in 11 years. It made it to the last four nine straight times before being eliminated by Athletic in the quarterfinals last season.

Barcelona controlled possession but it struggled to create many significant chances at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium, with Sevilla goalkeeper Bono stopping the few efforts he faced. Sevilla constantly threatened on counterattacks, especially after opening the scoring in the first half.

Sevilla's Jules Kounde celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville , Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP PhotoAngel Fernandez)

Messi, making his 758th appearance with Barcelona to add to his 142 with Argentina, commanded the attack but failed to capitalize on his chances, including one with only Bono to beat in the 11th minute. He nearly scored with a stoppage-time free kick that again was stopped by Bono.

Messi had been rested in the Spanish league game against Real Betis on Sunday, when he came off the bench in the second half to lead the team to a come-from-behind victory.

Koundé put Sevilla ahead in the 25th with a nice run that culminated with him slipping the ball in between the legs of Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti before shooting into the net from inside the area.

Sevilla's Jules Kounde celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville , Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP PhotoAngel Fernandez)

Rakitic sealed the victory in an 85th-minute breakaway, beating goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen with a shot into the top of the net. The midfielder didn't celebrate the goal against his former club.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was without three players because of injuries — Martin Braithwaite, Sergiño Dest and Miralem Pjanic. Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui was without injured players Lucas Ocampos and Jesús Navas.

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Sevilla's Jules Kounde celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville , Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP PhotoAngel Fernandez)

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Sevilla's Jules Kounde celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville , Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP PhotoAngel Fernandez)

Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, centre, gestures during a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville , Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP PhotoAngel Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lionel Messi tries a shoot during a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville , Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP PhotoAngel Fernandez)

Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 on Thursday to make sure Real Madrid will have to wait at least another week to celebrate the Spanish league title.

Barcelona's away victory reduced its gap to Madrid to 15 points, and it can further cut it to 12 points on Sunday if it defeats Rayo Vallecano at home in a game it has in hand.

Barcelona and Madrid, which won 3-1 at Osasuna on Wednesday, will have five games left. Madrid, trying to clinch its second title in three seasons, doesn’t play this weekend.

Barcelona's plaers celebrate after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

“Madrid was lucky that it took a while for us to join the fight,” Barcelona defender Dani Alves said.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored with a close-range header in the 11th minute to give Barcelona its first win after consecutive home losses against Cádiz in the league and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. The Catalan club had not lost two straight home games since 2003.

The victory against Sociedad left Barcelona tied on points with Sevilla, which defeated Levante earlier Thursday to stay in position to secure a Champions League place next season. Second place also is important as it guarantees a spot in the Spanish Super Cup.

Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

“We suffered a lot but in the end we got three golden points and stayed in second place,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “It was an important victory even though we didn’t play too well.”

Defending champion Atlético Madrid, which was held to a 0-0 home draw against relegation-threatened Granada on Wednesday, stayed two points behind Barcelona and Sevilla. Fifth-place Real Betis trailed Atlético by four points and was two ahead of Sociedad.

Sociedad has not beaten Barcelona in 12 straight league matches. The Basque Country club hadn't lost in seven consecutive league games at home, all of them with clean sheets.

Barcelona's Dani Alves, left, fights for the ball with Real Sociedad's Diego Rico during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Barcelona extended its unbeaten streak on the road to 13 league matches, having won five in a row.

Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo left injured early in the second half, and the team's other central defender, Gerard Piqué, appeared to get injured in the first half but stayed until being substituted in the 82nd while being loudly jeered by the Sociedad fans.

Piqué, who also heard some boos every time he touched the ball during the game, has been in the spotlight in recent days after stolen audio leaked to the media exposed a series of conversations between him and Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales talking about behind-the-scenes negotiations on several issues.

Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, left, vies for the ball with Real Sociedad's Igor Zubeldia during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

SEVILLA RECOVERS

Sevilla improved its chances of making it to the Champions League with a 3-2 win at second-to-last-place Levante.

Jesús “Tecatito” Corona scored two first-half goals and Jules Koundé added another after halftime.

Barcelona's Dani Alves reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Levante captain José Luis Morales had to be comforted by teammates and opponents after the match because of a missed penalty kick that could have equalized the game at 2-2 in the second half. Koundé gave Sevilla a 3-1 lead about 10 minutes later before Roberto Soldado pulled the hosts closer again.

Levante stayed tied with last-place Alavés, six points from safety.

CÁDIZ FALLS AGAIN

Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, left, tries to score next to Real Sociedad's goalkeeper Alex Remiro during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Cádiz followed up its stunning 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou Stadium with a 3-2 home loss against Athletic Bilbao.

The result left Cádiz just outside the relegation zone.

Eighth-place Athletic was up 3-0 by the 33rd. It played a man down from the 71st after Mikel Vesga was sent off.

Barcelona's head coach Xavi Hernandez gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

RELIEF FOR RAYO

Rayo won 1-0 at Espanyol to end a 13-match winless streak in the league and move closer to salvation.

Sergi Guardiola scored in the 42nd to leave the southern Madrid club seven points from the relegation zone in 14th place. Espanyol, sitting in 12th-place, was two points ahead of Rayo.

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