By beating 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on Saturday, Barcelona took a big step towards their 27th La Liga title, increasing their lead over second-placed Real Madrid to 11 points with only six games remaining. In The 14th minute, Barcelona took the lead when Andreas Christensen headed home a cross from Raphinha. Betis defender Edgar Gonzalez received two yellow cards for poor tackles and was subsequently sent off in the 33rd minute, reducing the visitors to ten players.
Barcelona’s La Liga title battle progresses with a 4-0 win against Real Betis.
In the 36th minute, Barcelona capitalized on the situation as Robert Lewandowski scored off an assist from Jules Kounde. After two minutes, Raphinha scored a goal initially disallowed by the assistant referee for offside before being reinstated following a video assistant referee review.
Guido Rodriguez scored an own goal in the 73rd minute while attempting to clear a cross from Ansu Fati within the six-yard box, giving Barcelona the win. During the game’s last minutes, Barcelona’s coach Xavi Hernandez put in 15-year-old winger Lamine Yamal, making him the club’s youngest-ever La Liga debutant.
The win was a crucial comeback for Barcelona after their 2-1 loss to Rayo Vallecano last week, and the players’ improved play demonstrated that they had taken the loss to heart. Raphinha, who scored once and assisted on another, reflected on the game, saying, “We needed to respond, and winning by a large margin was important to have more confidence.”
“If we want to win the league it has to be like that in every game,” the coach said, “and we needed a little more attitude, needed to stay with the ball.” Barcelona is looking forward to their forthcoming games with optimism that they can maintain their winning streak and win the La Liga championship for a record-setting fourth time.
