Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona: Barcelona has won three points on a visit to Real Betis. After a difficult first half, it seemed to be a tough task for Xavi’s team. Goals from Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski provided the full spoils in Andalusia, although it became tense in the final phase due to their own actions.
After more than half an hour, Raphinha thought he had promoted a great pass from Frenkie de Jong to goal, but the opening goal was rejected in Andalusia due to a clear offside. The first half of Xavi’s team could be summarized with the same problem: a lot of ball possession, a lot of control, no good final pass.
2nd half
The first shot on target in the match – the disallowed goal does not count in that statistic. It came after the break, from Pedri. Goalkeeper Rui Silva kept the ball well out of his goal, just as Marc-André ter Stegen reacted adequately to an attempt by Nabil Fekir on the other side. Halfway through the second half it was the leader who dealt the first blow. Alejandro Balde’s bet landed at the far post, where Raphinha was ready to tap in.
The visitors’ second goal came ten minutes before the end. Corner by Pedri, headed in by Ronald Araújo and shot in by goal machine Lewandowski. That seemed to be the decision, but in the final phase it got tense. A cross from the right was clumsily worked into an own goal by Jules Koundé.
The Frenchman’s blunder led to some sweating in the final phase, but the damage did not go beyond that. A great victory from the Catalan leader: Betis had only lost once this season in Estadio Benito Villamarín. Barcelona is now eight points ahead of Real Madrid and has the chance to increase to fourteen points. In the coming week: the competitor is in Morocco for the World Cup for club teams.
