Valentin Barco was applauded by Sevilla fans on his debut on loan in LaLiga.

But he could not help his team avoid defeat at home to Girona.

Sevilla went down 2-0 with Barco starting in an inverted left-back role.

The consensus appeared to be that the Argentinian offered a lot going forward but was caught out defensively.

He failed to protect the far post when Girona went ahead late in the first half but produced a clever pass ahead of a Sevilla goal which disallowed for a tight but correct offside call. 

Sevilla have two away points so far but have lost both their home games, the first of them by Villarreal.

They are 19th in the early season standings but Barco’s first outing is being seen as one of the positives around at the moment.

Head coach Garcia Pimienta said: “Barco's debut was not easy.

“Girona have things very clear and they had a magnificent season, but I think Valentin had a good performance.

“He was good, with determination, good play and happy with his debut.”

Barco played the full 90 minutes and was rated Sevilla’s best player by top sports newspaper Marca.

Marca’s Adrian Blanco wrote: “Valentin Barco is an extraordinary talent.

“He plays inside, he links up with quality, he invents and has the personality to be a key player in the game.

“I am excited about him, but he also needs a context that does not expose his defensive weakness too much when he plays as a full-back.”

Sevilla return to action at home to Getafe after the international break.

Barco’s compatriot Facundo Buonanotte scored his first goal for Leicester to revive some hope in their 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa.

The on-loan Seagulls man was left on the bench but made a pleasing impact when introduced as he looked to make things happen with passing from deep – and got forward to fire home on the volley from close range.

Foxes boss Steve Cooper said: “Facundo had had a strange week after the Fulham game.

“He needed managing, with his groin. That kept him out of being available for the League Cup game. It’s been a stuttered week for him.

“Then, looking at what we felt the game might have needed in terms of the physicality that Villa have in the middle, we wanted to go toe-to-toe on that side and then hopefully open up the game as it went on.”

Buonanotte, who has made no secret of his desire to get back into the Argentina squad, appears to be off to good start at the East Midlands outfit.