La Liga 2019/2020 | Barcelona 5-2 Real Betis: 4 players that impressed for the Catalans  

Barcelona bounced back from their shock 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on matchday one with an emphatic 5-2 victory over Real Betis at Camp Nou.

Despite falling behind to an early Nabil Fekir goal, Barcelona rallied back, and seized the initiative to grab all three points in front of their fans.

Real Betis defeated Barcelona on their own turf with a 4-3 victory last season, and there would have been more than a few hearts in mouths when Los Verdiblancos went ahead inside the first 15 minutes.

However, Barcelona stepped up to the plate to ensure that lightning did not strike twice, with the players doing their bit to guarantee the victory.

While a number of Barcelona players impressed, some shone more than others, and in this piece, we shall be highlighting four players who impressed the most against Real Betis.

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#4 Carles Perez

Perez was handed his first La Liga start and he made it count

Carles Perez is a 21-year-old who plays as a winger for Barcelona B. He had joined the side's youth academy from Espanyol in 2015 and has so far scored 12 goals from 54 matches for Barcelona's reserve side and helped them to the UEFA Youth League in 2018.

Perez has been an infrequent member of the senior side, having made his debut against Eibar, and was one of a number of La Masia youngsters who starred for Barcelona during pre-season, scoring both goals in the 2-0 victory over Vissel Kobe in Japan.

The injuries sustained by Messi, Suarez and Dembele left Valverde short of options in attack, and this prompted Perez to be handed his first La Liga start for Barcelona, starting in a front three alongside Griezmann and Rafinha.

Having earlier missed a good opportunity, Carles Perez made amends in the 56th minute, calmly gliding past Guardado before slotting the ball into the back of the net to put Barcelona 3-1 up.

While it would be far fetched to suggest that Perez would break into the first team owing to the abundance of talent in front of him, there would always be windows of opportunities for him to make appearances, and Perez seems ready to grab whatever chances come his way.

#3 Frenkie de Jong

The Dutchman continues to impress from the center of the pitch

Frenkie de Jong was unarguably Barcelona's standout player during pre-season, as the 22-year-old slotted in seamlessly into the team, and impressed all and sundry with his effortless ball distribution and technique.

He however had a less than spectacular debut in the 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao, and would have been eager to make amends with an improved display on his next outing.

This proved to exactly be the case against Real Betis, as the Dutch international was deployed on the right of a midfield three also including Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto.

Barcelona had 71% possession on the night, and a lot of that was down to Frenkie de Jong's calming influence in the middle, as his passing was pristine, while he also dictated play through the middle and was almost unplayable, rarely put a foot wrong for the entirety of the 90 minutes.

#2 Sergi Roberto

Sergi Roberto assisted both of Griezmann's goals

Sergi Roberto is a La Masia trained player, and the last player to have become established in the first team from the academy.

The last few years have seen the 27-year-old deployed at right-back, and despite excelling in his makeshift position, the Spanish international did not hide his desire to be played in his preferred position in midfield.

Ernesto Valverde seems to have granted his wish, and having played Roberto in midfield for most of pre-season, the 55-year-old has also deployed him in midfield in each of Barcelona's two LaLiga games till date.

His performance against Athletic Bilbao left a lot to be desired, but Sergi Roberto made up for that with a much improved performance against Real Betis.

While not as technically gifted as Frenkie de Jong or Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto is extremely industrious, and his work ethic came to the fore against Los Verdiblancos, as he was a constant presence in the opposition half, and acted as the link between midfield and attack for Barcelona.

He ended the night with both assists for Griezmann's goals, and despite an intense competition for places in midfield, Sergi Roberto boosted his standing with his display against Real Betis.

#1 Antoine Griezmann

The Frenchman was the star of the show on his Camp Nou debut

Prior to the game against Real Betis, it is safe to say that Griezmann's Barcelona career had not really kicked into gear, as he failed to stamp his authority during pre-season, while he also had a nightmare debut against Bilbao at the San Mames.

Injuries suffered by Barcelona's other forwards put more pressure on Griezmann, and with Valverde starting him as the focal point of attack, the Frenchman sparked to life and was Barcelona's best player on the night.

He opened his Blaugrana account in the 41st minute with a volley off Sergi Roberto's cross, and showed his class with a well taken shot into the top right corner five minutes after the restart.

A good chance was presented to grab hat-trick late on, but rather unselfishly, the World Cup winner elected to pass to Arturo Vidal for the Chilean to put Barcelona 5-1 up.