Sevilla face mission improbable

Barcelona's Uruguayan forward Luis alberto Suarez celebrates after scoring during the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

Published: Tue 16 Aug 2016, 10:02 PM

Last updated: Wed 17 Aug 2016, 12:06 AM

Sevilla have a mountain to climb in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday if they are to overcome Barcelona.
Goals from Luis Suarez and Munir El Haddadi earned last year's Liga and Copa del Rey winners a 2-0 victory in Andalusia on Sunday and they have one hand on the trophy.
Jorge Sampaoli's men impressed in the first half but struggled to create many clear chances and now find themselves in an extremely tough position going into the return fixture at the Camp Nou.
The Argentine coach believes playing against Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup last Tuesday harmed his side's chances of victory in this competition.
"We came from 120 minutes against Real Madrid and had several casualties. The calendar has hurt us a bit and we're feeling the weight of fatigue," he explained after the defeat. "Hopefully we will play a more dignified role (in the return leg)."
Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico, who was his side's outstanding player, agreed with his coach.
"We suffered in the second half because we were worn down after the other final," Rico said. "I hope we win the next one. It's home and away, and we will go there with all the hope in the world to put in a good performance and turn things around. All is not lost."
Michael Krohn-Dehli and Benoit Tremoulinas are still out injured, while captain Vicente Iborra should return after being rested.
Barcelona, meanwhile, will be without captain Andres Iniesta and defender Jeremy Mathieu, who injured their knee and hamstring respectively during Sunday's clash.
New signings Denis Suarez and Lucas Digne were their replacements from the bench on the night and having both impressed are likely to start on Wednesday.