Barcelona take second place in La Liga with victory over Sevilla

FC Barcelona have achieved yet another major feat after leapfrogging Sevilla to second place in the La Liga Santander table on Sunday evening thanks to a 1-0 victory against the Andalusian side at the Camp Nou. The two clubs are now level on 57 points along with Atletico Madrid, but Barcelona is in second place thanks to a goal difference advantage.

Real Madrid still leads the pack with 69 points but the Catalans consider second place to be a major achievement considering the fact that they were outside the top four just a few months ago. Sevilla has held second-place for much of the season, but the loss last night has now put them all the way down in fourth with Atletico taking third.

Barcelona also have the opportunity to make some space between themselves and and both Atletico and Sevilla because they still have a game in hand. If they win their next match against Levante, the Blaugrana will find themselves only nine points behind the leaders. That means they will still have a chance to pressure Real Madrid for the title if the positive results keep coming.

Pedri was the man of the hour at the Camp Nou, as he scored the lone goal of the evening. However, Ronald Araujo and new arrival Ferran Torres also had their fair share of dangerous attempts. It was a well-balanced squad, with veterans Gerard Pique and captain Sergio Busquets also throwing their weight around.

Xavi appears to have a magic touch, taking the team from floundering about in the midtable and back to title contention in just a few months. Earlier this month, they managed to stage a convincing 4-0 win away at Real Madrid for their first win in the last six El Clasico encounters.

Barcelona dominated for most of the match against Sevilla but the visitors did not take things lying down either. Anthony Martial sent a cross dangerous cross into the area, which gave the visitors hope for a penalty after it hit Ronald Araujo's arm. However, the referee decided against the spot kick after agreeing that Arauujo's arm was in a natural position by his side when he was struck by the ball.

After that, Barcelona hardly looked back. Pedri may have been the one to make the breakthrough, but Ferran, Araujo and Pique all made attempts to add to the tally. In the end, one was enough for the three points. Xavi and his men are on a roll, and they will be doing everything they can to end the season in a totally different place from where they started.