Manchester United-bound Pedro settled a nine-goal thriller in Georgia to win the UEFA Super Cup for Barcelona.
After confirming he wanted to leave
the club before Barca faced Sevilla on Tuesday night, and being left out
of the starting XI as a consequence, he climbed off the bench to score a
dramatic extra-time winner with six minutes remaining.
For much of the extraordinary match
in Tbilisi Lionel Messi looked like being the difference between the two
sides. He buried two free-kicks inside eight first-half minutes as
Barcelona recovered from going a goal down after just three minutes.
Manchester United target Pedro scored the winner for Barcelona as they beat Sevilla to win the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday night
Pedro (left) started on the bench and told the
club he wanted to leave on Tuesday but still won them their first trophy
of the season
Lionel Messi stole the show early on in Tbilisi after netting two superb free-kicks in the first half at the Dinamo Arena
The Barcelona star curls a free-kick over the wall to put the Champions League winners in front early on
Luis Suarez (right) was also on target for Barca as they beat their La Liga rivals in a nine-goal thriller at the Dinamo Arena
There were just six minutes and 50
seconds on the clock at the Dinamo Arena when his one-man show started.
From a free-kick on the edge of the area he put the ball and the Sevilla
goalkeeper in the net to draw Barcelona level.
Ever Banega had opened the scoring,
also from a brilliant free-kick, on three minutes after Javier
Mascherano had been adjudged to have fouled Jose Antonio Reyes.
Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen
had been left rooted to his line by Banega’s strike. His opposite number
Beto was left behind his line as Messi’s response sent him sprawling
into his top corner after the ball after Grzegorz Krychowiak had fouled
Suarez.
By the quarter-hour mark Messi had
put Barcelona in front. It wasn’t just anything you can do I can do
better, it was anything you can do, I can do twice. This time it was
Banega who brought down Rakitic and Messi, from further out, beat Beto
again to make it 2-1.
It was like a new version of an old song – ‘raining goals in Georgia seems like Messi is still the best in the world’.
Watching from the bench was Pedro.
This seemed like another example of why he feels he is surplus to
requirements at Barcelona. The effect of his absence from the starting
line-up was minimal at first. Messi tried to score direct from a corner
on 20 minutes and who could blame him? It’s difficult to imagine a goal
that he wouldn’t be capable of scoring.
Some players return from a summer
tournament tired and needing a break but it’s Sevilla who need a break
from Messi – he has scored 24 goals against them in 23 matches.
Luis Suarez had been best
supporting-actor in the first half. He had the ball in the net from a
Jeremy Mathieu pass but the goal was incorrectly ruled out for offside.
Even that move had been started by Messi skipping between Reyes and
Banega.
Suarez was then put through by Ivan
Rakitic and when Beto blocked his shot the selfless striker recovered to
collect the rebound, look up and thread the ball through Michael
Krohn-Dehli’s legs for the onrushing Rafinha to convert from close
range. It was the perfect lesson to any young striker – he didn’t flinch
when he fluffed his chance, just made sure he was first to the loose
ball to make the next chance that was converted.
The Barcelona and Sevilla teams head out ahead of the UEFA Super Cup final at Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi
Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega put the Europa
League winners into a shock lead after netting a free-kick just three
minutes into the match
The Argentine celebrates his team-mates after opening the scoring in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday night
The Sevilla starters embrace the substitutes and backroom staff after taking an early lead in Georgia
Messi struck a double soon after with set-pieces of his own as the Champions League winners turned the match on its head
Messi started off the 2015-16 campaign as he left off last season with the forward in fine form in Belarus
The Barcelona players celebrate after Messi’s early double in the UEFA Super Cup final on Tuesday night
The Uruguayan got his goal seven
minutes into the second half when he was put through by Sergio Busquets
and there now seemed no way back for Sevilla. Their three minute opener
now seemed like ancient history.
But Reyes scored after Jeremy
Mathieu misjudged a Vitolo cross and although Rafinha almost restored
the three-goal advantage, rattling the bar, Kevin Gameiro made it 4-3.
When the goalscorer was replaced by
Ciro Immobile the Italian on loan from Dortmund got the better of Marc
Bartra and crossed for Ukrainian new signing Yevhen Konoplyanka to
equalise.
Pedro came on at the start of extra
time and immediately went into Scottish referee Willie Collum’s book for
a late challenge on Vitolo. Barelona’s frustration at having thrown
away a 4-2 lead was now evident wherever you looked. Mascerhano, who had
made way for Pedro was raging on the bench and Pique shouted at match
officials: ‘Six referees and no-one sees it…**cksake man’ after he was
caught by Immobile who had already been booked.
Sevilla’s Vitolo chases Barcelona right back Dani Alves as Jose Antonio Reyes (right) and Gerard Pique (left) watch on
Former Liverpool striker Suarez fights for the ball with Ever Banega and Adil Rami as he looks to make an impact
Rafinha gives Barcelona a 3-1 advantage at the
Dinamo Arena after turning in Suarez’s cross despite the pressure of
Beto and Coke
The Brazlilian played in the forward line ahead of Pedro who is linked with a move to Manchester United
Banega (left) and Reyes (second right) can’t do anything to stop Messi as he breaks away at the Dinamo Arena
Suarez looked like he had given Barca an unassailable advantage at 4-1 after capitalising on some slack defending
Jose Antonio Reyes runs back to the halfway line with the ball after giving Sevilla a glimmer of hope
Sevilla had been physical throughout
and had benefited from Collum’s interpretation of the laws of the game.
Hamstrung by the huge financial difference between the two clubs it was
difficult to begrudge them that advantage. They were never going to
match Messi but man for man they more than matched Barcelona physically.
The Argentine tried to find Barca’s
fifth with an over-head volley but his effort went high and wide.
Wearing the captain’s armband since Iniesta was taken off he was leading
his side’s final push for the winner and he won a free-kick on the edge
of the area when clattered by Mariano.
Messi’s free-kick hit the wall and
when it rolled back out to him the he fired it back at Beto. The
goalkeeper’s save cannoned up at his near post and Pedro was the
quickest to react to rifle the loose ball into the back of the net.
They’ll miss him when he’s gone.
Jeremy Mathieu clearly brought down Sevilla attacker Vitolo as Barcelona looked nervous defending their lead in the second half
Kevin Gamerio struck home the penalty for the Europa League winners as they mounted a superb comeback
The French striker urges his team on after cutting the deficit to just one at the Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi on Tuesday night
Unai Emery (right) speaks to his side while Barcelona manager Luis Enrique (left) throws his arms up in the background
Sevilla summer signing Yevhen Konoplyanka converts at the back post to send the game into extra time
Sevilla midfielder Banega (left) holds back Argentine compatriot Javier Mascherano during the UEFA Super Cup
Andres Iniesta watches on from the dug-out after the Spanish midfielder was withdrawn from the pitch after 63 minutes
Pedro hits the winner for Barcelona after following up from Messi’s effort to fire the ball past Beto in the Sevilla goal
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