Barca beaten in King's Cup
Reuters - Tuesday 05 January 2010, 23:58
MADRID - Diego Capel and Alvaro Negredo
scored at the Nou Camp to give Sevilla a 2-1 win over holders
Barcelona in the first leg of their King's Cup last 16 tie on
Tuesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had cancelled out Capel's 59th-minute
strike with a cool finish 18 minutes from time, but Barca
conceded a penalty almost immediately and Negredo restored
Sevilla's one-goal cushion for next week's return leg.
Pep Guardiola's side have made a lacklustre start to 2010
after drawing their first game since the winter break at home
to Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday.
"Sevilla were deserved winners and have made the tie very
difficult for us," Barca president Joan Laporta told Canal Plus
television.
"I think it's a little early to start talking about an end
of an era but everyone is entitled to his opinions," he replied
when asked if Barca were struggling to live up to last year's
standards.
Guardiola sent out a weakened team against Sevilla,
including Argentina defender Gabriel Milito, who was making his
return to action after a season and a half out with a knee
ligament injury.
Barca dominated a poor first half, with Lionel Messi
hitting the woodwork, and Guardiola turned to substitute
Ibrahimovic to pep up the attack after the break.
But Sevilla scored first when the lively Diego Perotti
burst down the left and crossed for an unmarked Capel to score
at the far post.
Ibrahimovic broke the offside trap racing on to Rafael
Marquez's long pass, and rounded the keeper to equalise but the
scores only remained level for two minutes.
An out-of-sorts Dmytro Chygrynskiy pulled back Capel as he
dribbled into the area, conceding a penalty and Negredo made no
mistake from the spot.
Daniel Alves looked to have levelled again for Barca in the
closing stages but the referee ruled it out for offside.