Barcelona vs. Sevilla: Score and Reaction from 2015 UEFA Super Cup Match

Barcelona beat La Liga rivals Sevilla 5-4 in one of the craziest UEFA Super Cup finals you will ever see, with Pedro scoring the eventual winner deep in extra time after the Europa League winners came back from a 4-1 deficit.

Lionel Messi produced two stunning free-kicks to give the Catalans the lead after Ever Banega had opened the scoring, and when Rafinha and Luis Suarez made it 4-1, the match appeared to be over. Jose Antonio Reyes, Kevin Gameiro and Yevhen Konoplyanka turned the situation around for Sevilla, however, forcing extra time from the most improbable position.

But just as it seemed the match was headed for penalties, Pedro hammered home a rebound to put the final score on the board and conclude a truly epic contest.

As reported by Bleacher Report UK, manager Luis Enrique decided against starting Pedro in place of Neymar, who was absent because of injury. Instead, Rafinha found his way into the starting XI. According to La Liga blogger Rafael Hernandez, it was a clear sign that Pedro is on his way out of the Camp Nou:

It took just three minutes for Banega to open the scoring with a beautiful free-kick that gave Marc-Andre ter Stegen no chance. The midfielder calmly curled the ball in past the wall, and ter Stegen stood rooted to the ground, powerless to stop Banega's effort.

Bleacher Report UK was stunned:

Not impressed, Messi pulled the Blaugrana level the first chance he got. From about the same distance, the four-time Ballon d'Or winner curled his effort into the top corner, sending Beto flying into his own net.

BBC Sport thought Messi's effort was at least as good as Banega's:

Barcelona then increased the pace, and Rafinha nearly made it 2-1. A beautiful team move saw the ball land at the feet of Ivan Rakitic, but his cross fell just out of Rafinha's reach.

Banega inexplicably decided to foul Andres Iniesta in the vicinity of his own box after 16 minutes, giving Messi another chance with a free-kick. This one was from further out, but once again, the Argentinian international produced a moment of brilliance, which gave his team the lead.

Sport's Samuel Marsden kept his comment brief:

After the frantic start to the match, the pace finally dropped a little. Sevilla had more time on the ball, allowing them to advance a little deeper into Barcelona territory, but it hardly yielded any real chances.

In fact, it was Barcelona who came closest to scoring, as Benjamin Mathieu found Suarez in front of goal for the tap-in. The linesman ruled that the Uruguayan scored from an offside position, but replays showed he was behind the ball when Mathieu played the cross.

Rakitic and Dani Alves tried their luck from distance, while Banega drew a routine save from ter Stegen. It seemed like both teams would settle for a 2-1 score at half-time, but with minutes to spare, Suarez did a fantastic job of extending the play, allowing Rafinha to make up tons of ground before slotting home his team's third. 

BT Sport's James Horncastle couldn't believe Suarez's assist:

Barcelona started the second half with lots of possession and pushed deep into the Sevilla half. Suarez found himself in an excellent shooting position, but his shot flew over the bar. 

A defensive miscue by Sevilla gifted the ball to Sergio Busquets, who in turn played in Suarez, providing the former Liverpool man with a chance he just couldn't miss. After that, Bleacher Report's Ryan Bailey started drawing his conclusions for how the La Liga race will play out this year:

Despite the three-goal deficit, Sevilla continued to play with the Catalans and were rewarded minutes later when Reyes blasted the ball home with an excellent volley. The Barcelona defence gave the Sevilla man far too much space, with Mathieu in particular sitting woefully out of position. 

The action continued to go back and forth, as Rafinha clipped the crossbar with a headed effort. On the other side of the pitch, Mathieu brought down Vitolo inside the box, and Gameiro converted the penalty to bring his team within a single goal.

Bet365 weighed in on what was turning into a ridiculous match:

Sevilla were surging, and when Marc Bartra allowed Ciro Immobile to beat him all too easily, the on-loan striker picked out Konoplyanka, who made it 4-4 with 10 minutes left to play:

David Amoyal of Gianluca Di Marzio was enjoying himself:

Messi nearly completed a hat-trick of perfect free-kicks to win Barcelona the final, but his effort with two minutes left on the clock flew inches wide of the post. Sevilla also tried their luck with a late free-kick, but Ter Stegen cleared the danger just in time.

When the official blew the whistle to indicate the match would be going to extra time, few were complaining:

Pedro was introduced at the start of extra time and was immediately booked for a foul on Vitolo before an incident brought the match to a halt momentarily. Gerard Pique went down with a severe nosebleed that required treatment; he said he had received an elbow to the face.

None of the officials saw anything, something the Spain international couldn't understand, as noted by Joe Krishnan of the Independent:

The Catalans dominated possession, but neither team was particularly adventurous moving forward in the first half of extra time. There wasn't a single chance of note, and the final appeared destined for penalties.

Messi tried to get creative with an acrobatic overhead attempt, but his shot was nowhere near on target, and play slowed down significantly. This early in the season, the players aren't conditioned to go 120 minutes, and it showed.

But just as fans started preparing for the penalty shootout, the Spanish champions struck. Messi won his side a free-kick and found Beto in his path on the rebound, but Pedro pounced on the loose ball to reclaim the lead for the Catalans.

Bleacher Report UK couldn't take it anymore:

Sevilla launched a massive offensive to find a late goal, and Coke really should have put the ball in the back of the net after a miscue by ter Stegen. His header, however, flew wide of the post. 

Adil Rami's miss minutes later was even worse, as he used his knee to push the ball wide after some great work from Immobile. That was the last chance of the match, as the Blaugrana held on to win their first major trophy of the season.

Sevilla may have lost Carlos Bacca to AC Milan, but they showed they can still hang with the best of them. Tuesday's comeback was inspiring, and while their effort fell short, it should give the side plenty of confidence ahead of their La Liga opener against Malaga.

Barcelona will start the season with a tough trip to face Athletic Bilbao, and while their attack seems as dangerous as ever, Enrique will have some questions to answer regarding his defence. Both Bartra and Mathieu made costly mistakes Tuesday, and they simply can't repeat those if the Blaugrana wish to retain their La Liga crown.   

Post-Match Reaction

As shared by Barcastuff, Javier Mascherano had no trouble admitting that his side showed plenty of weaknesses Tuesday:

"

Mascherano: "Happy for the win, but it's clear that we still have a lot of things we should improve."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) August 11, 2015"

The Argentina international is one of many who hopes Pedro will stay at the Camp Nou:

"

Mascherano: "We hope Pedro continues, he's always there in those moments, he's been touched by the magic wand."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) August 11, 2015"

As one might expect, plenty of Catalans were asked about Pedro and his future, a hot topic after the La Masia graduate scored the winner in Tuesday's match. Iniesta also hopes he'll stick around:

"

Iniesta: "We had to suffer a lot, but in the end we won. We need to keep on correcting things. Pedro? He deserves it, I hope he continues."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) August 11, 2015"