Neymar may be away on Olympics duty, but Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi sparkled in the Brazilian's absence to help Barcelona to a comfortable 2-0 win against Sevilla in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. The Uruguayan forward opened the scoring and Munir El Haddadi slotted home 10 minutes from time to seal the contest.
It was Sevilla who looked lively in the early part of the game but the Blaugrana looked dangerous with the ball. With Messi and Suarez working in tandem, the threat of a goal was looming large. After a scoreless first half, Barca went ahead in one sweeping move, involving midfielder Denis Suarez and Arda Turan, who landed the final pass with a sumptuous assist off his chest. Luis Suarez bundled the ball into the net.
Barca found their passing rhythm and killed the game 10 minutes from time with the irresistible Messi sending forward Munir through on goal. The pass and the vision from the Barca talisman was exemplary and the finishing, calm and precise.
The Spanish Super Cup is usually played between last season's league and Copa del Rey winners. Sevilla qualified for the contest owing to the fact that they finished runners-up in the domestic cup, another competition which Barcelona pocketed. The second leg of the contest, which will be played at Barcelona's home ground, Camp Nou, will be played on Wednesday.
