3 things we learned from Barcelona’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla

Thanks to a terrible error by Gerard Pique and a great late fightback from Sevilla, La Liga’s title race couldn’t be much tighter. Barcelona drew 2-2 away at the Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday, meaning they’re now just two points ahead of Real Madrid in the table.

Lionel Messi scored the opener for Barca, and in impressive fashion. He just about duplicated his goal against Almeria from earlier in the week, placing a gorgeous curler into the back of the net at the far post after cutting in from the right wing. Neymar added a free kick goal just over 15 minutes later, and at the time it looked like the Blaugrana were coasting to victory.

But Sevilla pulled one back out of nowhere just before halftime, partially thanks to Barca goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Ever Banega unleashed a good long-range shot in the 38th minute, but Bravo got across well and got his hand in front of the ball. However, inexplicably, he wasn’t strong enough to push the ball past the post, and it went through his hand before flying over the line.

While Barca were on top for most of the second half, they looked vulnerable and needed someone to settle the game down. They brought on Xavi to do the trick, but Sevilla’s subs were better. Jose Antonio Reyes took advantage of a misplaced pass by Pique, beat Sergio Busquets with a dribble and sprayed wide for Aleix Vidal. He took a couple strides forward before hitting a perfect cross towards Kevin Gameiro, who tapped in the equalizer to rescue a point for Sevilla.

Sevilla: Rico, Tremoulinas, Carrico, Pareja, Coke, Banega, Krychowiak, Vitolo (Reyes 70’), Iborra (M’bia 70’), Vidal, Bacca (Gameiro 74’)

Goals: Banega (38’), Gameiro (84’)

Goals: Messi (14’), Neymar (31’)

1. Sevilla won the subs battle -- While Sevilla always looked capable of scoring on the counter in this game, Barca were on top through about the 70th minute mark. But when both teams made subs, the game changed. Bringing on Xavi for Neymar made sense for Barca, but it took away an attacking threat and didn’t help them shut down the game. Meanwhile, Sevilla looked both more threatening on the break and more solid in the center after making their three subs.

2. Swapping Messi and Suarez is effective -- For the second game in a row, Messi scored on a left-footed curler from just inside the box, scored after he cut inside from the right wing. It was the kind of goal he used to score a lot when Samuel Eto’o was up top for Barca, but it hasn’t been a common shot for Messi since he moved to the false nine role. But he’s been swapping positions a bit with Luis Suarez, and it’s creating some serious problems for opposing defenses.

3. Gerard Pique threw away all the goodwill he built up -- There was a period of time during which Gerard Pique looked like one of the top central defenders in the world. Then Carles Puyol started having injury problems, other players showed up next to Pique, and he was exposed. He proceeded to play pretty average defense for two-plus years until this January, when he appeared to regain his old form. He’s been one of the best central defenders in the world for the last three months.