Patience pays off for Alcacer

Paco Alcacer could be reborn at Barcelona, revelling in his two-goal show to sink Sevilla in La Liga.

Starting in the league for the first time since the opening day of the season, and appearing for just the fourth time in 2017-18, Alcacer scored both goals in Saturday's 2-1 win as Barca maintained their four-point lead at the top.

After moving to Camp Nou from Valencia last season, it took Alcacer until February to register his first league goal and he had been linked with a swift departure in the close-season.

However, with Luis Suarez struggling for form, the 24-year-old made the most of his opportunity and now hopes to be on an upward curve.

"Strikers lives off goals," Alcacer told beIN SPORTS. "I had a negative streak at the beginning and at the end they come in.

"You have to keep working and wait for the opportunities.

"We managed to fight to the end and defend well. These points are very important and we feel like a team. We have achieved something difficult, which is to score in almost every game.

"I'm happy with the goals, but the result is the most important thing. More than my own game, it should be noted that the team fought until the end."