Seville, Spain, Oct 3 (EFE).– FC Barcelona missed the scoring punch of injured striker Lionel Messi in a 2-1 loss here Saturday against Sevilla, which seized control of the game with two goals early in the second half.

Both teams were missing several injured players for the match at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in this southern city, with the Catalans also having to make due without star midfielder Andres Iniesta, Brazilians Adriano and Rafinha and Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen and Sevilla missing seven players, notably Argentine midfielder Ever Banega.

After a scoreless first half, Sevilla opened the scoring at the 52-minute mark when French striker Kevin Gameiro penetrated down the right side of the field and fired a cross that Danish midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli booted home from short range.

Barça midfielder Sergi Roberto was defending on the play but allowed the cross to scoot through and find the wide-open Sevilla attacker.

Brazilian striker Neymar had a chance to tie the game four minutes later, but Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico denied him with an outstanding foot save.

But far from content to sit back on defense, the hosts mounted another successful counterattack in the 58th minute, with Krohn-Delhi making the key pass on that occasion to 6-foot-3 midfielder Vicente Iborra, who headed a high-lofted ball past Chilean net minder Claudio Bravo.

A desperate Barça comeback attempt fell short, although Neymar cut into the lead by converting a penalty kick in minute 74.

With two losses in their last three La Liga matches, the defending champions will drop to fourth place in the standings by the end of the weekend.

They currently trail league-leading Villarreal and second-place Celta Vigo, but Real Madrid will leapfrog the Catalans with a win or draw Sunday against Atletico Madrid.

The Colchoneros, meanwhile, will move into third place with a victory over their crosstown rival at Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Despite their domestic league struggles, Barcelona rallied for a 2-1 victory Tuesday over German club Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League play despite the absence of Messi, who sustained a knee injury in last Saturday’s La Liga match against Las Palmas.

Sevilla is currently in 10th place in the Spanish-league standings with eight points. EFE