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Barcelona’s 1-1 draw with Real Betis on Saturday night (April 5) was followed by some post-match drama involving Raphinha. The Brazilian was brought on in the 57th minute but looked visibly furious at the final whistle.
Barca took an early lead through a Gavi goal (7'), then quickly lost it, with Natan equalizing (17') and the hosts never regained full control of the game. When tempers boiled over, it was Raphinha who shouted at the match officials, as Robert Lewandowski tried to intervene.
Despite the efforts to calm him down, Raphinha angrily kicked a ball away and later had a heated argument with head coach Hansi Flick. It got very intense in the tunnel as goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen tried to console the winger by putting an arm around him, but Raphinha pushed him away. Ter Stegen pushed his arm away and gave him a little shove in reply.
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Hansi Flick was asked about the incident, but the German manager insisted that the Brazilian was not angry at the match officials (via Metro):
"He was angry with me, not with the referee, he was yelling at me."
Raphinha, however, has remained an important player for Barcelona, with 24 goals and 13 assists across all competitions this season.
How Barcelona could win La Liga before the next league El Clasico
Barcelona were gifted a chance to pull ahead in the La Liga title race when Real Madrid went down 2-1 at home to Valencia on Saturday. Hansi Flick’s side did not really take advantage, settling for an uneasy draw with Real Betis on a frustrating night at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Despite Barca having the ball almost throughout the game, they failed to double their lead, thanks in no small part to an inspired outing by Betis goalkeeper Adrian. Earlier in the day, Valencia had dealt a blow to Madrid's title chances, with Hugo Duro's header deep in stoppage time sealing a surprise home defeat and Vinicus missing a penalty.
Los Blancos were left on 63 points as a result. Barca, now on 67 points, have a four-point cushion with eight rounds to go. Most importantly, matchday 35's El Clasico (May 11) could be a huge game. The Catalans need to win their next four matches and see Madrid drop points. If this happens, they will be crowned champions, irrespective of the result of the Clasico (via Barca Universal).
