Sevilla threaten Barca supremacy

Diego Capel and Alvaro Negredo both scored at the Nou Camp to give Sevilla a 2-1 win against holders Barcelona in the first leg of their King's Cup last 16 tie on Tuesday night.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had cancelled out Capel's 59th-minute strike with a cool finish 18 minutes from time, but Barca conceded a penalty almost immediately and Negredo restored Sevilla's one-goal cushion for next week's return leg.

Coach Pep Guardiola's side have made a lacklustre start to 2010 after drawing their first game since the winter break to Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday.

"Sevilla were deserving winners and have made the tie very difficult for us," said Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

"It's a little early to start talking about an end of an era, but everyone is entitled to his opinions," he replied when asked if Barca were struggling to live up to last year's lofty standards.

One piece of good news for the Catalan club was that Lionel Messi (pictured) returned after his extended mid-season break.

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