Barcelona fight back for win

Barcelona battled back to defeat Sevilla 2-1 and win the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday with French World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele hitting a sensational winner to help give Lionel Messi a winning start as captain.

It was Barcelona’s 13th Super Cup triumph and sixth in the last nine seasons.

Pablo Sarabia gave Sevilla the lead after just nine minutes on a counterattack. Gerard Pique levelled three minutes before the interval for Barcelona after he was fastest to respond to a loose ball following a Messi free-kick. That set the stage for French star Dembele to take the headlines with a 78th minute screamer from 25m and again Messi played a crucial role with the key pass.

There was still time for late drama when Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen brought down Aleix Vidal. Wissam Ben Yedder’s weak penalty was saved by Ter Stegen.

The match had endured a controversial build-up when Sevilla threatened to file a complaint against Barcelona if the La Liga champions fielded more than three non-EU players.

The Spanish football federation said there would be no restrictions on players from outside the EU for the Super Cup, despite only three being allowed in squads for league matches.

Sevilla said they could file a complaint if Barca named an “improper lineup” in Tangier.

New signings Malcom, Arturo Vidal and Arthur were expected to be Barca’s three non-EU players. In the end, Malcom was left out of the matchday line-up. Philippe Coutinho has acquired a Portuguese passport, while fellow South Americans Messi and Luis Suarez are already EU citizens.