An own goal scored by Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos gave Barcelona a close 1-0 victory against Sevilla on Friday in La Liga, moving Barcelona to the top of the league. The match was played between Barcelona and Sevilla.
seasoned middle defender In the 76th minute of a close match, Ramos broke the tie by redirecting a header from Lamine Yamal into his own goal. This gave his team the victory.
This week, the 37-year-old player said that he had made preparations for a unique celebration of a goal if he scored against Barcelona after his summer transfer back to Spain from Paris Saint-Germain; however, scoring an own goal was not part of the original plan.
“Ramos is a spectacular defender, today he had the misfortune of scoring an own goal but he had a good game,” Barcelona coach Xavi told reporters after the match. “Ramos had the misfortune of scoring an own goal today.”
“Unfortunately for him, it was a fortunate occurrence for us,”
In continuation, he said, “Sergio grows in these atmospheres, it’s an unfortunate goal, it hits him and bounces in.”
The win that Barcelona earned allowed the Catalans to pass Girona and seize the lead in the standings. Girona’s next game is on Saturday against Real Madrid, who are in third position.
After their draw on Tuesday in Mallorca, Xavi’s team fell behind Girona and Madrid, who both made up ground on them.
“Can you believe it? Tomorrow is my birthday, and I have a party planned, so I won’t be able to watch the game. Xavi said, “I’ll follow it but I won’t be able to watch it, which is a shame – may the best team win.”
“The only thing that we are able to control is today, and we have a positive attitude about it. We had a great game against a great team, and we deserved more goals.”
Before the match, Sevilla sparked a commotion when they made the announcement that its directors would not be attending the usual lunch or sitting in the presidential box as a form of protest against Barcelona’s role in the refereeing corruption controversy.
On Thursday, criminal charges of bribery were brought against the Catalan club and some of its previous directors.
In an effort to provide extra energy behind the striker Robert Lewandowski, Xavi started winger Raphinha in offensive midfield and Lamine Yamal on the side.
As Barcelona had the early initiative in the match, Joao Cancelo made a strong run, which was followed by a shot by Joao Felix that hit the crossbar. However, Sevilla was quick on the counterattack.
Ivan Rakitic, a former midfielder for Barcelona, had a shot and attempt saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, while Dodi Lukebakio also had a shot saved by him. Gavi made a fantastic stop with his chest to prevent Lucas Ocampos from scoring.
An improbable origin
Xavi’s experiment with Raphinha was cut short when the Brazilian went down injured and was replaced by Fermin Lopez, a product of La Masia, who rescued Barcelona against Mallorca with a late goal. Lopez scored the goal that saved Barcelona’s season.
The midfielder was swiftly set up by the rising star Yamal, who is just 16 years old, but the player could only manage a weak shot. This was the one disappointing moment in an otherwise excellent performance.
As Barcelona continued their relentless pursuit of the game’s first goal, Gavi’s shot was barely deflected high and away from the goal.
In the end, the goal came from an unexpected source when Ramos accidentally knocked Yamal’s header back into the danger area after it had already been cleared by Orjan Nyland.
Fans of Barcelona have been known to jeer at Ramos whenever he makes contact with the ball due to his history of playing for Real Madrid in Madrid; however, these jeers transformed into applause when his own goal was shown on the video board at the Olympic Stadium.
When Real Madrid’s centre back Ramos led Real Madrid in a Clasico in 2016, Yamal was just nine years old and was a mascot for Barcelona at the time. Yamal stood next to Ramos.
Ramos had been playing effectively and contributing to the team’s success up until the point where he scored an own goal.
In the last seconds of regulation, the defender made an excellent save to prevent Lewandowski from scoring, but the damage had already been done.
“In that move Ramos was defending well, he just had bad luck,” the coach of Sevilla, Jose Luis Mendilibar, commented.
The ball struck him, and he was unable to respond as he had planned since there was not enough time.