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BARCELONA: Spanish champions Barcelona collapsed in a shock 4-1 demolition at Sevilla on Sunday in La Liga, with Alexis Sanchez scoring against his former side and Robert Lewandowski missing a penalty for the visitors.
The Catalans sit second in the table after their first league defeat of the campaign, two points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid following Los Blancos’ victory over Villarreal on Saturday, while Sevilla rise to sixth.
Real Betis moved fourth with a 2-1 win at Espanyol, thanks to a stoppage-time penalty save by their goalkeeper Pau Lopez, who formerly played for the Catalans.
Atletico Madrid stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo after having Clement Lenglet sent off in the first half and sit fifth.
Veteran Chilean winger Sanchez put Sevilla ahead from the penalty spot early on against Barca and Isaac Romero doubled the hosts’ lead after having already missed two good chances.
Marcus Rashford pulled a goal back before half-time, but Lewandowski fired wide from the spot to spurn his team’s best chance of an equalizer.
Jose Carmona and Akor Adams wrapped up Sevilla’s emphatic win in the final stages, as Hansi Flick’s side fell to an unusually heavy defeat.
“The team’s first 45 minutes were horrendous. I think we’ve not played a game as bad as that and we must be self-critical,” Barca midfielder Pedri Gonzalez told the club’s media channel.
Flick defended his team despite their loss, saying that he was pleased with their reaction in the second half.
“It’s one match and we lost it, and we have to keep going,” he said.
Barcelona were still licking their wounds after Paris Saint-Germain beat them late on in the Champions League on Wednesday, and were without injured teenage star Lamine Yamal.
“In the first half we didn’t know how to defend well or attack well,” Pedri told Movistar, of his team’s sluggish display.
The rout began when Ronald Araujo clumsily grappled with Romero in the box and conceded a penalty.
Sanchez dispatched it, with the 36-year-old sending Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to fire Matias Almeyda’s side ahead.

- Sevilla rampant -

Romero swept into the bottom corner from Ruben Vargas’s cutback for the second as Barca were opened up easily again.
Rashford was the first Barcelona player to awake from their slumber and pulled the champions back into the game deep in first-half stoppage time, volleying home Pedri’s cross for his first La Liga goal.
Having won just one league game at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in 2025 before Barcelona’s visit, the hosts’ nerves began to shake.
Sevilla substitute Adnan Januzaj conceded a penalty for felling Balde as he flew into the box, granting Barca a golden chance to level.
Veteran Polish striker Lewandowski stuttered twice in his run-up before firing wide of the post.
Youngster Roony Bardghji could have equalized but fired straight at the goalkeeper after Lewandowski’s flick-on sent him in on goal.
Sevilla wrapped up their win late on through full-back Carmona, who drilled a low effort past Szczesny and into the far corner, and Adams.
“I’m very happy for the victory, we needed to win at home,” said Sevilla coach Almeyda.
“We couldn’t give them a meter of space... we knew what we had to do and we’re on a good path.”

- Atletico drop points -

Atletico’s draw at Celta left them eight points behind leaders Real Madrid and six behind Barca.
A Carl Starfelt own-goal put Atletico ahead before Lenglet was sent off in the 40th minute for two yellow cards.
Iago Aspas, who equalled the record for most Celta appearances, bundled home an equalizer in the second half, with the hosts on top but unable to find a winner.
It was Celta’s sixth 1-1 draw of the season in eight league games, with the Galician side yet to win.
Atletico had won their prior three across all competitions, including a 5-2 thrashing of Real Madrid last weekend.
“I’m very happy with the work of my players,” said an annoyed Simeone repeatedly, in answer to various questions about the game.
The coach had shown his anger on the touchline at the decision to send off Lenglet for two fouls on Ferran Jutgla.
Promoted side Elche fell to their first defeat of the season, a 3-1 loss at Alaves that left them seventh.

PHILADELPHIA: The Phillies had Shohei Ohtani on the ropes on the mound and tied up at the plate, the Dodgers’ two-way star seemingly losing the air of invincibility that surrounds him.
Ohtani the ace recovered, and he did it one swing-and-a-miss at a time against a string of All-Stars in the Phillies’ lineup.
Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper all disappeared in the playoffs again in Game 1 of the NL Division Series, a combined 1-for-11 effort with six strikeouts and no RBIs in the 5-3 loss.
Game 2 is Monday at Citizens Bank Park, you know, that boisterous ballpark known for its so-called four hours of hell that is supposed to rattle the nerves of even the most steeled players.
Heck, even a three-time MVP such as Ohtani — who struck out four times Saturday night — acknowledged ahead of the game that he was a bit anxious to face the fans.
Here’s the headache for the Phillies: They have wasted home-field advantage with four losses in their last five postseason home games. So they enter Game 2 with cold bats, have lost that extra oomph that 45,000 fans usually provide and have to try to regain their playoff mojo against the reigning World Series champions and two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
“I don’t sense any extra pressure,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Sunday.
He might not sense it, but the fan base does, especially with little room for error — or Matt Strahm meatballs — in the best-of-five series.
Ohtani retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced, and Turner, Schwarber and Harper went 0 for 9 with five strikeouts against the right-hander.
From two-way sensation to two-time Cy Young postseason standout, the series won’t necessarily get easier for the Phillies.
Snell, who missed four months of his first season in Los Angeles with shoulder inflammation, struck out a season-high 12 over seven innings in a September start against the Phillies.
Snell got the ball last week in the Wild Card Series opener and struck out nine over seven strong innings. He retired his initial eight batters in his first playoff start since 2022, when he was with the San Diego Padres. Snell matched his postseason high for strikeouts in the longest postseason start of his career.
He is 5-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 13 career playoff appearances (11 starts).
“I feel good with Snell going tomorrow,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Here’s some more good news for the Dodgers, already the betting favorite to win the game and series, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Harper is 1 for 11 with a home run and two RBIs lifetime against Snell. Schwarber, the NL home run and RBI champion, is 2 for 12 with a homer and three RBIs, and Turner is a moderately better 4 for 17 with three RBIs in 20 plate appearances vs. Snell.
“Just like everything else, we’re going to be attacking it head on and we’re going to be excited to walk into the clubhouse and get back on the field and play another high, meaningful game here,” Schwarber said Saturday night. “That’s what this is about. This is never going to be easy. You’re facing the best of the best out here. It’s up to us to be able to make the adjustments and go out there and feel like we’re doing everything possible to put ourselves in position to win a baseball game.”
Jesús Luzardo (15-7, 3.92 ERA) starts Game 2 for the Phillies.
Bader is feeling better
Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader could play in Game 2 after leaving the opener with a groin injury.
Thomson said Sunday that imaging showed no major tear or strain in Bader’s groin. Thomson said the Phillies would have a better idea on Monday if Bader, who settled center field and morphed into a fan favorite down the stretch, could start or at least be used as a pinch hitter.
“I think after the game they stretched him out, got him moving around a little bit,” Thomson said. “I think he felt a lot better after that.”
Bader made one of the Game 1 plays of the game when he sprinted to his left on Andy Pages’ tying shot in the fifth inning and made the diving grab for the out. Bader, who added a sacrifice fly, said he felt tightness later in the game running the bases.
“This is kind of the point in the season where you just empty the tank,” Bader said after the game.
Should Bader miss Game 2, Nick Castellanos likely would return to the starting lineup in right field, with Brandon Marsh in center field and Max Kepler in right.
Four hours in Philly of what the hell is this?
Zack Wheeler received a roaring ovation when the ace sidelined because of complications from a blood clot returned in full uniform for the roster introductions. Phillies fans went wild when Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt threw the first pitch and they never stopped booing Ohtani — boos so loud they drowned out the pregame hype video playing on the big screen.
Yet, they lost for the fourth time in the last five home playoff games (they won 12 of 14 before this current stretch) and they lost the opener in a season where they went 55-26 at home.
Could it be the Phillies are feeling the postseason pressure to impress at home?
“I don’t think so. I don’t feel that,” Thomson said. “Our crowds have been outstanding. It was really loud and boisterous and rabid last night, just like our normal playoff fans are.”
Loud crowds are nice. But fans — even if they think they can after completing the 9-9-9 challenge — can’t help the Phillies connect against some of the best pitching in baseball.
“We just didn’t get the big hit when we needed it. We had some chances,” Thomson said. “It’s the way it is. I think it’s just the ebbs and flows of the game, and we’ve got to come out here tomorrow night and play well.”