Barcelona's Achilles' heel this season had been how they performed when they came up against their closest rivals.
Other than their win over Juventus in Turin, they'd disappointed in other defeats to Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla, but on Saturday they produced the goods.
At the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Barcelona gave one of their best performances of the season, proving a point to those who criticised the attitude of the players against Cadiz and Elche.
Their high press showed their work rate and they were good both in defence and in attack.
In the first half, Ousmane Dembele gave them the lead and they could have sealed the win as chances fell to Jordi Alba, Clement Lenglet, Lionel Messi and Sergino Dest, who hit the post.
The change in system from Ronald Koeman, playing with three central defenders and two wing-backs, opened up space for Messi and Dembele in attack and this helped to break down Sevilla.
Gerard Pique also played particularly well, with three impressive passes in the first five minutes alone, showing his importance to the team since his return from injury.
In the second half, a Messi goal against his favourite victim sealed the 2-0 victory.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com