Tangier: Lionel Messi won his 33rd title with Barcelona on Sunday to become the most successful player in the Catalan club’s history.
Barcelona beat Sevilla 2-1 in the Spanish Super Cup as Messi overtook Andres Iniesta, who had 32 titles when he left this summer for the Japanese league.
Ousmane Dembele scored a late winning goal with a blistering strike from outside the area. The 21-year-old France winger stunned Sevilla’s defence with a right-footed shot that hit the underside of the crossbar in the 78th minute.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen secured the win when he saved a penalty from Sevilla substitute Wissam Ben Yedder in the 89th after Ter Stegen fouled former Barcelona forward Aleix Vidal.
Pablo Sarabia opened the scoring for Sevilla in the ninth minute, when the video assistant referee (VAR) overruled an offside call in the first use of the technology in Spanish competition.
Gerard Pique equalised three minutes before half-time when he finished off a free-kick by Messi that hit the post and ricocheted off the back of goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik — and again off the upright — before falling to the Barcelona defender.
While Barcelona dominated possession, Sevilla went close to going back in front when Franco Vazquez’s glancing header hit the top of the goal-frame in the 62nd before Dembele took his winner.
A year ago, Barcelona broke their own transfer record to sign Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in August for a fee of 105 million euros. But his first season at Camp Nou was limited by injuries as Dembele struggled to replace the hole left by Neymar after he went to Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said that he hoped that Dembele’s goal is a sign of better things to come this season.
“We have placed lots of hope [in Dembele],” Valverde said. “He has an amazing ability to break down defences with his speed. He is a very young player and we hope that little by little he makes progress.”
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal debuted for Barcelona as a late substitute.
The Super Cup is played between the previous season’s league and Copa del Rey winners. Since Barcelona won both competitions, Sevilla played the match as the Copa runners-up after losing 5-0 in last season’s cup final to Barcelona.
Played in Tangier, Morocco, this was the first Spanish Super Cup held outside Spain and the first time it was played as a single match, instead of a two-leg series.
