Barcelona move closer to title with 4-0 win over 10-man Betis Football News
Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Rafinha struck goals as Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on Saturday to consolidate their hold on top spot and move a step closer to their 27th La Liga title.
With only six games remaining, Barça recovered from a disappointing midweek defeat at Rayo Vallecano to reach 79 points and an 11-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, while Betis remained sixth on 49 points. Is.
Christensen opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 14th minute with a point-blank header from Rafinha’s cross.
Barca’s task was made easier by Betis defender Edgar Gonzalez, who came off the bench in the 12th minute to replace an injured Luiz Felipe, but was sent off 21 minutes later after seeing two yellow cards for two bad tackles. Went.
The locals made the most of their advantage before the break, scoring twice in the space of three minutes thanks to strikes from Lewandowski and Rafinha.
La Liga’s top scorer Lewandowski increased his haul to 19 for the season with a first touch shot from inside the box in the 36th minute from an assist from Jules Counde.
Rafinha had to wait a few minutes to celebrate scoring Barca’s third as the assistant referee initially disallowed his effort for offside before VAR replays overturned the decision.
“It’s always good to score and make an assist, but I think I can always do better,” Rafinha told Movistar Plus.
“The last game was very tough, we needed to react and winning by a big margin was important for more confidence.
“(Manager) Xavi (Hernandez) warned us and we know what we can do and what we lacked against Rayo. We needed a little more attitude, needed to be with the ball, and if we It’s like that in every game if you want to win the league.”
Barca took their foot off the pedal after the break, comfortable to see the game out, but managed to extend their lead thanks to an own goal by defender Guido Rodríguez, who cleared Ansu Fati’s cross from six-yards. Scored a goal while trying to. -box.
With the win, 15-year-old winger Lamine Yamal became Barca’s youngest ever player when he was brought off the bench by coach Xavi.
