A hamstring injury picked up on Sunday means Uruguay will not expect Luis Suarez to be fit until the latter stages of the Copa America.
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The La Liga champions stood firm against the Europa League victors, who were back in action following Wednesday’s win over Liverpool in Basel, and when Ever Banega’s red card levelled the numbers ahead of extra time, Barca had the staying power.
Barca also won the Uefa Super Cup – against Sevilla – and the Fifa Club World Cup, but lost in the Spanish Super Cup.
Barcelona did miss out on a second consecutive treble-winning campaign after losing to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals but Alba insisted that Barca had had a great season.
‘This team can not possibly show any more character and personality than they already have.
“We have improved defensively, going many games without conceding a goal (six in a row)”.
“With 11 [men], we were always in a position to control the game, and we had the capacity to do damage in attack”. They carry many titles won with different coaches.
“Barca proved they know how to suffer”, AS newspaper wrote on their front page.
However, Lionel Messi took center stage to assist both goals, first he put Alba through with an nearly flawless pass to open the scoring in the 97th minute, before setting up Neymar to seal the victory at the closing stages. “The team has known how to compete marvellously despite the difficulties we have faced this season”.
“Despite this loss, we end the season with our heads up”, Sevilla coach Unai Emery said. “We had a challenge to win everything again but, unfortunately, it wasn’t possible”.
Lionel Messi was once again imperious, this time as a provider, as he assisted both Jordi Alba and Neymar to hand Barcelona victory.
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Do you think Neymar will still be at Barcelona next season, or could we see him move somewhere else?
