Barça resumes its path to the alirón

Barça resumes its path to the alirón

Xavi's men beat Betis with 10 and maintain 11 points in the lead with 18 at stake

MADRID, 29 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

FC Barcelona defeated Real Betis (4-0) this Saturday on matchday 32 of LaLiga Santander to bring the alirón for the title closer, with 11 points of rent over Real Madrid, second, when there are 18 left at stake, a win recovering effective and punishing a rival who did not start well and who had bad luck with the referee.

Xavi Hernández's team was forced to react after their defeat and bad image against Rayo last week and, furthermore, with Real Madrid's victory shortly before this Saturday against Almería (4-2). Thus, the leader blamed his rival from the beginning and thus fell by his own weight Christensen's 1-0 after fifteen minutes.

Betis collapsed in 15 minutes, between Luiz Felipe's injury and the entry of an unfortunate Edgar, like the referee Del Cerro Grande. The Madrid referee sent off the visiting center-back with two yellow cards in seven minutes and, in the following six, Lewandowski and Raphinha sealed the 3-0 goals.

Under the shelter of the Camp Nou, the goals returned, like rain, to Barcelona. The culé team squeezed a Betis that neither had possession nor the option of countering, locked up under the dominance of a Barça with that desire to claim plus the hunger of those who were back. Thus, Christensen returned after injury with the header of the 1-0, at the center of a Raphinha who recovered the tireless version of him.

The goal coincided with the change in the visiting defense, with the entry of an Edgar who saw a yellow card against the Brazilian despite touching the ball first. Shortly after, the Catalan defender saw the second due to a foul on Pedri and Betis was bitterly left with 10, knowing that the first action should not have been booked.

Between the anger, the lack of control on the pitch and a Barça involved in the task, the game was left without history with the goal from Lewandowski, in an attack on the right wing by Koundé, and from Raphinha, with the suspense of the VAR, after a good busquets pass The collapse of Betis was total, witness to the local enjoyment, with the return of Dembélé and the debut of Lamine Yamal.

Xavi's team kept up their intensity during the restart, in case Manuel Pellegrini's men tried to raise their heads. Lewandowski, with 19 goals to Benzema's 17, had several options to respond to the Frenchman's hat-trick against Almería. The leader did not need it, relaxed to make way for Dembélé's return after three months of injury, as Pedri also picked up rhythm and De Jong returned. Yamal made his debut at the age of 15 and almost scored.

In the end, it was Guido who made it 4-0 at his own goal, after an overflow from Ansu Fati. Barça leaves the daisy of the title while Betis sees the Champions League zone move away on a fateful day at the Camp Nou, where Joaquín also ended up injured who, after being one of Pellegrini's changes, left his team with nine the final stretch, in search of Andoni Zubizarreta's record of matches in the First Division before his goodbye.

--RESULT: FC BARCELONA, 4 - REAL BETIS, 0. (3-0, at halftime).

FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Araujo, Christensen (Marcos Alonso, min.59), Balde; Busquets, De Jong (Ansu Fati, 60 mins), Pedri (Kessie, 73 mins); Gavi (Lamine Yamal, 83rd minute), Raphinha (Dembélé, 73rd minute) and Lewandowski.

REAL BETS: Rui Silva; Montoya, Pezzella, Luiz Felipe (Edgar, min.12), Miranda (Joaquin, min.64); Guido Rodriguez, William Carvalho; Luiz Henry (Akouokou, substitute), Canales (Juanmi, 75 mins), Ayoze (Abner, 64 mins); and Willian Joseph.

1 - 0, min.14, Christensen.

2 - 0, min.36, Lewandowski.

3 - 0, min. 39, Raphinha.

4 - 0, min.82, Guido (own goal).

--REFEREE: Del Cerro Grande (C. Madrid). He admonished Edgar (min.24) at Betis. He sent off Edgar for the second yellow card (min.33).

--STADIUM: Spotify Camp Nou, 88,530 spectators.