Sevilla Sting: Lewandowski Misses Penalty as Barca Sinks in an Jarring La Liga Wake-Up

Match Recap

Robert Lewandowski, Barça’s star striker, believes what unfolded against Sevilla is part of football’s nature. Barcelona were beaten 4-1 at the Ramon Sánchez Pizjuán on Sunday, in La Liga’s eighth round. Lewandowski also missed a penalty when Sevilla led 2-1, before he joined up with Poland for World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

“This is football, and not everything goes as we want; some penalties are missed, this is part of the game,” Lewandowski said during a Poland training camp press conference. He added that matches like this can strengthen the team for the future, acknowledging the pain of the moment but expressing hope for a positive response.

The Polish forward insisted that losses can be a spur for the rest of the season, noting that difficult periods must be faced head-on to return to the right path promptly.

Barça’s post-match reflections pointed to the need for emotional and tactical reorganization during the international break. There were reports from Catalan outlet Sport of visibly heated moments within Flick’s staff, with the video-analysis unit taking an elevated role to extract tactical learnings for training and in-between halves.

Coach Hans Flick has long emphasized working with trusted colleagues, with Stefan Nob one of his key assists in this regard. The tactical struggle in the match showed Barça lacking pace, movement, and cohesion between lines; Pedri and Frenkie de Jong sought sustained support from attackers to create numerical superiority, but opportunities were hard to come by as Sevilla pressed firmly.

Sevilla executed a solid game plan, and Barça failed to find spaces or unlock the opponent’s defense. The hosts produced their best performance of the season at home and registered their first win at Ramon Sánchez Pizjuán, while Barça’s reply in the first half was subdued.

After the match, Flick admitted, “We want control and possession, and in the first half that didn’t happen; there are many reasons for that. We’ll analyze the matter precisely during the break,” especially following successive defeats to Paris Saint‑Germain and Sevilla.

"Always against us" was what Araújo yelled at halftime, clearly frustrated by decisions he deemed unfavorable, including a penalty that was awarded after VAR review. A post-match audio published by the platform Dazn captured the discussion between the video referee and the main official, confirming a push before a shot that led to the penalty, a moment that sparked widespread debate in Spanish media about VAR usage in Barcelona games.

Flick attempted to steady the atmosphere, urging the squad to learn from the decisions and stay focused, though he did not hide his disappointment with the circumstances. “The first half was not good from our side; they were very aggressive, and we didn’t find the solutions. They went into individual duels and won them,” he said, explaining that the second half showed improvement but stopping short of offering excuses. He added: “We must fight so this doesn’t repeat itself in domestic and European competitions. We’re a good team, and results will return soon.”

Punchline Sniper joke #1: If football were a coffee, Barca’s penalty would be a double shot with no finish—strong on the taste, weak on the finish line.

Punchline Sniper joke #2: Sevilla’s win proves that sometimes the home crowd is the best referee—tonight the fans called the shots, and the oranges brought the juice.