Barcelona’s attack answered Betis’ threat

The 1x1 assessment of Barcelona against Real Betis underlined the importance of the Catalan side’s attack in a match when its defence endured difficult spells. Betis’ counterattacking approach put the back line under pressure, but Barcelona responded with attacking efficiency. From a set piece, a defender nodded the ball on for Eric to score the 1-3.

The goalkeeper had a mixed outing. He appeared too close to his line for the 1-1, then made amends with an outstanding save from a clear Bellerín chance. He seemed capable of doing better on Lo Celso’s provisional 2-2, which was later ruled out for a prior handball by Cucho.

The defence also had to be reshuffled: after Gerard Martín went off with discomfort, a midfielder moved into the centre of defence. He returned to that position late in the match after Eric Garcia was injured.

The match brought together the top two sides in the Liga standings. Barcelona led on 27 points after 9 matches, while Real Betis were third on 19. Barcelona had won all 9 of its games, scoring 39 goals and conceding 9. Betis had 6 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats, with 16 goals scored and 14 conceded. The gap between the teams was 8 points.

At home in the Liga, Barcelona had won all 4 matches, scoring 17 and conceding 4; away, it had won all 5, with 22 scored and 5 conceded. Betis’ record was less strong: 4 wins and 1 defeat at home, followed by 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat away. Over their last 5 Liga matches, Barcelona had won every game, while Betis had 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat.