FC Barcelona does not tremble against Betis and consolidates its leading position

Solid leader of La Liga at the start of the year, FC Barcelona (1st) moved on the always perilous ground of Real Betis (6th) this Wednesday, as part of a late match of the 17th day. As usual, the Catalans monopolized the ball from the first minutes (67% possession) against a not very enterprising Sevillian team. Successful in recent weeks in the zone of truth, Pedri was the first to light the fuse, but his festival was stopped by the exit of Rui Silva (19th).

In a meeting that was struggling to unleash between the two formations, the Blaugranas thought to open the scoring on a header from Raphinha, but the Brazilian was flagged offside (34th). Technically superior, the visitors managed to easily get out of the pressing of Manuel Pellegrini’s men, and Pedri was close to opening the scoring but the young Spaniard stumbled on the Portuguese goalkeeper (37th). Without shining during these first 45 minutes, Sevillians and Barcelonans returned to the locker room back to back.

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A gala Pedri

The start of the second half looked like a copy-and-paste of the first act with the same actors on the front of the stage. Pedri, the most prominent player, once again came up against the vigilance of Silva (49th). Nabil Fékir woke his people up with a shot from the left foot (56′). But Barça logically took the advantage 25 minutes from time after an overflow from the very active Alejandro Baldé who found Raphinha alone at the far post, until then very clumsy (0-1, 65th).

Released after the opener, Xavi’s proteges found much more space in the defense of the premises, forced to deliver to catch up. Back from suspension, Robert Lewandowski definitively sealed the fate of the meeting by doubling the bet on his first opportunity (0-2, 80th). The Verdiblancos regained hope in the dying minutes after an unfortunate goal against his side by Jules Koundé (1-2, 85th). A fourth consecutive success in the league for FC Barcelona, ​​​​undefeated for 14 games in all competitions, which consolidates its position as leader. Real Betis, for its part, does not take advantage of this late match to get closer to the qualifying places in the Champions League and remains 6th.