Pedro's 'goodbye' ? present gives Barca dramatic Supercup win
Xinhua, August 12, 2015 Adjust font size:
FC Barcelona striker Pedro Rodriguez scored an injury time goal in what could be his last appearance for the club to give Barca the European Supercup following a thrilling 5-4 win against Sevilla.
Pedro is expected to join Manchester United in the coming days, but he was fastest off the mark to score from close range with just five minutes remaining in a game which either side could have won after a dramatic 120 minutes.
The game had looked to be in Barca' s pocket when Luis Suarez put them 4-1 up early in the second half, but Sevilla produced a heroic fightback to take the game into extra time and only Pedro' s goal separated the sides.
Barca coach Luis Enrique opted to start with Rafinha in the side ahead of Pedro Rodriguez, who looks set to leave the club, but saw how his side fell behind after just three minutes after Ever Banega curled in a free kick for Sevilla after just three minutes.
The Argentinean coolly stroked the ball home from the edge of the Barca area, but the score was level just three minutes later when Leo Messi produced a carbon copy of his goal at the other end of the pitch after Luis Suarez had been pulled down off the ball.
He put Barca ahead with another majestic free kick just 10 minutes later, sending a 25-meter shot into the corner of the net.
Barca dominated the game and were unlucky to see a Luis Suarez 'goal' wrongly ruled out for offside just before the half hour, although the Uruguayan set up Rafinha for Barca' s third just before the break after Beto had saved his chance following a counter-attack after a Sevilla corner.
Suarez got his goal early in the second half after a poor pass from defence allowed Sergio Busquets to rob possession and set him up for a simple scoring chance.
Jose Antonio Reyes pulled a goal back for Sevilla in the 58th minute, scoring from close range following a cross from the left wing, while another left wing cross saw Jeremy Matthieu commit a penalty against Vitolo which Gameiro slammed home with 18 minutes remaining.
Incredible Sevilla were level with nine minutes remaining after an error from Marc Bartra allowed Immobile to cross for Konoplyanka to slide home from close range and make it 4-4.
Sevilla kicked off the 30 minutes of extra time with high morale and looking physically stronger than Barca, but the first 15 minutes produced no chances for either side.
With tired legs the order of the day Barca ended with Gerard Pique playing as a makeshift striker allowing his side to hit high balls into the Sevilla area but it was Pedro who followed up after Beto had saved a Messi free kick who decided the final. Endi