Barcelona secured a hard-earned 2-0 victory over Real Betis as the Seville side put up a tough fight, even after having their German centre-back Heiko Westermann sent off early on in the game. The win at the Benito Villamarin stadium saw the Catalans regain the top spot in La Liga after both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid spent brief spells at the top of the table.
The visitors took the lead ten minutes into the second half through midfielder Ivan Rakitic after he capitalised on a miscommunication between Betis keeper Antonio Adan and centre-back German Pezzella as slotted the ball into an open net.
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In-form striker Luis Suarez was on the scoresheet yet again for the Catalans as he scored the second goal of the match ten minutes from time. The Uruguayan has now taken his tally to 35 league goals for the season.
Here are five talking points from the game:
Frustrating first half
It is safe to say that the match didn’t exactly have an exciting first half. Both teams failed to create any real chances. The keepers on both sides remained untested at the end of the first 45 minutes. The Betis defence stayed compact and didn’t leave any gaps, keeping the Catalans at bay.
Barcelona found it difficult to dominate the game even after Betis centre-back Heiko Westermann got sent off in the 35th minute when he received his second yellow card for a rash and unnecessary challenge on Ivan Rakitic.
The only highlights during the first half were the seven cards that referee Antonio Lahoz awarded.
Questionable refereeing and sending off
The first half saw match referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz make a set of questionable bookings as he awarded seven yellow cards in total to both sides. The level of inconsistency in refereeing raised quite a few eyebrows as the official was quite picky with his bookings at times. The ref himself seemed to be quite worked up for some reason as he also issued a warning to Real Betis manager Juan Merino in the first half.
Real Betis’s German centre-back Heiko Westermann was sent off in the 35th minute as he received his second yellow card for a rash challenge on Ivan Rakitic, eight minutes after he was first booked for a foul on the same player.
Juan Merino’s side still stayed compact and defended well during the entire course of the game. But the sending off inevitably came back to haunt Betis as a couple of defensive errors led to goals for both Rakitic and Suarez.
Defensive errors
After giving Barcelona no real chance to open the scoring in the first half, Real Betis had no one else but themselves to blame as they essentially put the match beyond their own reach thanks to two defensive errors.
It wasn’t a poor defensive performance from Merino’s men by any means, who kept one of the best attacking forces in world football silent for most parts of the game. But the Catalans capitalised on every small mistake that Betis’ defenders made.
A seemingly unthreatening aerial ball from Messi bounced into the box and was slotted into an empty net with ease by Ivan Rakitic for the first goal of the game. Miscommunication between centre-back German Pezzella and keeper Antonio Adan prevented either of them from clearing the danger.
The second goal was a classic example of brilliant counterattacking play as Suarez timed his run to perfection to get onto Messi’s through ball into the box. The Uruguayan put the ball past Adan with a perfect finish to double Barcelona’s lead. None of the defenders tracked Suarez’s run as he went on to score the second goal.
Opening goal changed the course of the game
Before conceding, Real Betis looked to put up a tough fight. The Seville side had a few chances of their own in the first half with Ruben Castro’s shot cleared out for a corner and Bruno Gonzalez’s header tipped over the bar.
Even after going a man down, Los Verdiblancos stayed solid in defence and looked to build from the back. But as soon as they conceded the first goal, the course of the game completely changed. Barcelona kept asking questions, knocking the ball around the Betis penalty area, with Merino’s men scrambling for possession.
Barcelona’s striker Luis Suarez wasn’t the same in front of goal as he was in the last two games. The Uruguayan’s finishing wasn’t up to the mark as he scuffed clear-cut chances in a tight game.
Next up: The Catalan derby
With two games remaining, Luis Enrique’s men are scheduled to face Espanyol next. Espanyol are currently 15th in the league and will go into the derby looking to upset Barcelona’s momentum as they themselves are hovering two points above the drop zone.
The two sides have met thrice this season already, with the Blaugrana having won twice and drawn once. Controversy has engulfed their meetings this season with Barcelona’s centre-back Gerard Pique getting involved in a tussle with the Espanyol fans.
Also, Barcelona face 16th placed Granada on the last matchday. None of Barcelona’s remaining fixtures look challenging, and with a win over Espanyol, the title should be virtually sealed. A slip up at this stage from any of the top 3 sides can lead to an interesting twist in this bitter race to Spanish glory.
