Messi scores, assists in Barcelona 2-0 win at Sevilla

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi scored after setting up Ousmane Dembele for the opener to secure a 2-0 victory at Sevilla on Saturday, lifting Barcelona into second place in the Spanish league.

Dembele netted in the 29th minute when Messi played him clear on a quick attack to end Sevilla’s excellent defensive streak of five straight clean sheets in the league.

Messi then capped a complete performance by his team in the 85th when he dribbled through the area and beat goalkeeper Yassine Bounou on a second try. It was Messi’s league-leading 19th goal.

“The most important thing of the game today was the ambition of the team,” a satisfied coach Ronald Koeman said. “We were fighting, pressing like a total team. We were really good with the ball, but the mentality to press the opponent for 95 minutes was the key.”

Barcelona’s victory left it two points behind leader Atlético Madrid, which has two more matches to play.

Sevilla was left in fourth place after the end of its run of six straight victories in the league.

While Barcelona ensured it stayed in the title hunt, it appears to have lost two young players to injury.

Midfielder Pedri González, one of Koeman’s most used players, seemed to hurt his lower right leg with around 20 minutes remaining.

Pedri was replaced by fellow 18-year-old Ilaix Moriba, who helped Messi score when he exchanged a quick short pass with the star on his slalom through the box. After getting the ball back from Ilaix, Messi dribbled around Fernando Reges and scrambled a save by Bounou of his first shot into the net.

Center back Ronald Araújo went on as a second-half substitute after returning from a left ankle injury that had sidelined him for five games. He lasted fewer than 20 minutes before he went down, holding his left leg and was substituted by Koeman even though he wanted to play on.

Barcelona will meet Sevilla again on Wednesday needing to overcome a 2-0 first-leg loss in the return leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said that as long as the team maintained this ambition, it could overcome the injuries.

“If we can overturn the tie on Wednesday, our entire season turns around,” Pique said. “After playing like this at Sevilla, not giving them a single scoring chance, we are confident that we can do good things this season.”