Barcelona romped to a 4-0 victory over Seviila but boss Ernesto Valverde hit out at the referee for sending off two of his players late on. The Catalan giants faced a tough test ahead of the international break as they took on a Sevilla side that had been in good form going into the clash at Camp Nou.
However, Barca made light work of Sevilla and got the job pretty much done in the first half as they raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembele. Barca jumped to being just two points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid as Lionel Messi completed the scoring in the second half.
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However, the gloss was taken off the win as Ronald Araujo was sent off for a professional foul, while Dembele was given his marching orders for dissent.
Neither decision went down well with Valverde, who was far from happy with the referee. “It is the referee’s criteria when assessing fouls. Everyone always has their opinion, but it has been a clean match,” he said. “I am sorry for the dismissal of Araujo because it was his debut. I did not think [it was a red card] and Dembele is a mystery.”
After the international break Barca will face Real and Valverde was pleased to see Messi back on the scoresheet. Messi’s goal was his first of the season in his fifth appearance in all competitions.
Valverde added: “Leo grabs goals and when he finds form he will score more, but it is good for us that there are other players who score goals.”
