Pablo Machin's Sevilla broke an 11 game winless run against Barcelona, defeating the Catalan side 2-0 in the Copa del Rey quarter final first leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Second half goals from Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder secured a famous win for the hosts, in a re-run of last year's final, and they now have a two goal advantage heading into next week's second leg at the Nou Camp.
The home side made four changes to their weekend starting XI, that lost to Real Madrid, with visitors Barcelona making eight, from their win over Leganes.
With so many alterations for both sides, they struggled to find any fluency in the first half, with Barcelona debutant Kevin Prince Boateng and Ben Yedder both missing the best chances of the opening 45 minutes.
Sevilla improved after the break, and got their reward just before the hour mark as Sarabia tapped home a Quincy Promes cross, following an excellent run from the former Spartak Moscow man.
Barcelona looked to inject some life into their performance by bringing on Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, however Sevilla hit them on the counter attack to seal the win.
Ever Banega, who enjoyed an influential game in midfield, found space and crossed for Ben Yedder to covert from close range at the back post on 77 minutes.
A final Barcelona rally never really materialised, and they now face a real battle in the second leg, as they look to defend the trophy they have won for the last four successive seasons.
