In the 84th minute of this evening’s Copa del Rey encounter between Sevilla and Barcelona, the Andalusian outfit snatched a goal on the break to take a two-goal lead into the second-leg.
With Barcelona having thrown bodies forward, Sevilla had a counter-attacking opportunity when they won the ball back, with Oliver Torres showing the quality that hailed him a wonderkid as a youngster.
Torres put the ball in behind for Ivan Rakitic with a lovely outside-foot pass, leaving the Croatian free to break free against his former club.
Rakitic showed some serious venom as he marched into the box – perhaps due to the circumstances surrounding his exit from the club – smashing the ball into the roof of the net with a side-foot finish.
Rakitic showed respect with mute celebrations against the Blaugrana, the central midfielder was one of many high-profile exits for the cash-strapped club in the past summer.
See More: Video: Centre-back Kounde glides past Alba, Busquets and Umtiti to score with inspired lung-busting run for Sevilla to stun Barcelona
It just had to be…Ivan Rakitic! ?
An outstanding finish against his former club doubles Sevilla’s lead and puts them in the driver’s seat in this semi-final tie ? pic.twitter.com/c6nZBMZyU5
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) February 10, 2021
Pictures from Premier Sports and bAction.
Ronald Koeman’s side may well have the odds firmly stacked against them to overcome this deficit, it will be another embarrassing moment for the club if they are knocked out by a side led by an ex-outcast.