Paco Alcacer nets twice as Barcelona beat sevilla

Paco Alcacer nets twice as Barcelona survive stern Sevilla test

BARCELONA -- Three quick thoughts from Camp Nou on Barcelona's 2-1 win over Sevilla in La Liga.

1. Barca stretch unbeaten run to 16 games

Paco Alcacer outshone Lionel Messi on the Argentine's 600th Barcelona appearance as Ernesto Valverde's side made it 16 games unbeaten with a 2-1 win over Sevilla at Camp Nou on Saturday.

Alcacer scored a goal in each half on his first La Liga start since the opening day of the season to restore Barca's four-point lead over Valencia at the top of the table. Real Madrid, meanwhile, ahead of their game against Las Palmas on Sunday, are now 11 points behind the Catalan side.

There was a lot to take in before the game. Messi's 600th appearance was greeted with an almighty storm an hour before kickoff. Fortunately, the thunder and lightning had relented by the time the ball began moving, but waterproof ponchos were still needed by those who decided not to hover at the back of the stands in an attempt to dodge the rain.

Once again, politics and sport also mixed. Barca unveiled a huge Catalan flag and the word "Justice" before the game in reference to the arrest of 10 Catalan politicians and social activists in the wake of Oct. 1's unilateral independence referendum. If the club's message was designed to be at least slightly low key, the message from the supporters wasn't. "Free all political prisoners" and "Europe shame on you" were two of the large banners held up behind one of the Camp Nou goals.

With all that to take in, you'd have been forgiven for missing everything going on on the pitch. And there was a lot going on there, too, as Barcelona made a fast start. Messi won and fired an early free kick into the wall; he then dribbled past three opposition players and drew save from David Soria, earning a corner. From that corner, he set up Sergio Busquets, whose shot was blocked on the line. That's the first three minutes covered.

Luis Suarez then had a chance, but once again this was not to be his night. Given the way the game had begun, it was no surprise when Barca took the lead. Suarez's diagonal pass appeared to have been cut out by Sergio Escudero, but the Sevilla defender only succeeded in deflecting the ball into Alcacer's path. Alcacer showed a cool head to slot the ball past Soria and open the scoring

Barca risked wasting all their good work in the first half when they let Sevilla back into the game. With the rain still coming down, Eduardo Berizzo's side grew into the game. They'd already began to threaten when Guido Pizarro headed them level.

The response from Barca was immediate, though. Alcacer got in front of his marker to prod home a brilliant Ivan Rakitic cross and seal another three points for Valverde's men, who now have 31 from a possible 33 in La Lig