Real Betis 2-5 Barcelona: Yamal shines as Barca set record
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 in Seville. The win was their ninth straight league win this season.
- Lamine Yamal scored a fine early goal. He was named Man of the Match.
- Betis played with ten men after a red card. Barcelona then scored two more goals.
Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 on Saturday, October 17. The win came in La Liga in Seville. It matched a record that stood for 58 years.
What happened
The game took place at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville. Barcelona led 2-1 at half time. The second half brought five more goals.
Barcelona started fast. Yamal struck early. Betis did not fold.
Gomez brought them level.
Lamine Yamal opened the score in the 10th minute. He took a pass from Jules Kounde. He cut back near the box.
He curled a left-foot shot into the top corner. The ball beat Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles.
Valentin Gomez headed Betis level in the 27th minute. The goal came from close range. Rodri then put Barcelona ahead in the 41st minute.
It was his first goal for the club. His header made the score 2-1.
Before half time, Betis thought they had scored again. Giovanni Lo Celso found the net. But VAR ruled the goal out.
TNT Sports reported a handball by Cucho Hernandez in the build-up. So the score stayed 2-1 at the break.
Gabriel Jesus made it 3-1 in the 51st minute. Yamal set up the goal. A minute before, Jesus had a goal ruled out for offside.
Abde Ezzalzouli then made it 3-2 in the 53rd minute. He beat the offside trap. Betis were back in the game.
Facundo Bernal saw red in the 54th minute. He clashed with Yamal after the Betis goal. Bernal pushed his head toward Yamal twice.
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea was the referee. He sent Bernal off. Yamal got a yellow card too.
Betis had to play with ten men.
The game had two big VAR calls. One took a Betis goal away. One took a Jesus goal away.
Both calls stood. The game stayed tense.
Barcelona used the extra man. They moved the ball with care. Eric Garcia added a fourth goal in the 62nd minute.
Dani Olmo scored the fifth in the 81st minute. Garcia and Olmo both came off the bench. Five men scored for Barcelona.
The final score was Real Betis 2, Barcelona 5.
Betis kept pushing even with ten men. They chased a third goal. But Barcelona held firm.
Why it matters
Nine wins in nine league games is a fast start. Only one other team has done it in La Liga. That team was Real Madrid in the 1968-69 season.
Barcelona have now matched that mark.
The win also kept Barcelona top of the league. They sit five points clear of Atletico Madrid. BBC reported they lead Real Madrid by nine points.
Real Madrid have played one game fewer.
This was also the 11th win in a row in all games. That run covers every game this season. It shows how strong this team is.
The attack keeps scoring. The defense still gives away goals.
The red card changed the game. Betis were close at 3-2. Then they lost a man.
Barcelona used the extra space. They scored twice more.
Yamal was the star of the night. He scored the first goal. He set up the third goal.
He won Man of the Match. USA Today said he came off in the 70th minute. He already has eight league goals this season.
He still trails Raphinha in the scoring race.
Barcelona chase a third straight league title. This win kept that chase on track. Betis still scored twice.
The defense still leaks goals. But the attack scores more.
Five scorers shared the goals. That spread makes Barca hard to stop. One star can have a quiet night.
Others still score.
Yamal is only 19 years old. He plays with great calm. His goal was the best of the night.
It set the tone for the whole game.
What happens next
Barcelona now face a huge week. They visit Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, October 20. PSG hold the Champions League title.
The game will be a hard test.
Then comes El Clasico. Barcelona host Real Madrid at Camp Nou next Sunday. It is the first Clasico of the season.
The game will test this winning run.
The Clasico could stretch the lead. A win over Real Madrid would add three more points. A loss would bring Madrid closer.
The title race is still young.
Coach Hansi Flick has injury worries. TNT Sports said three men were forced off. They were Gerard Martin, Gabriel Jesus, and Garcia.
Flick will hope they heal fast.
Fans will watch the injury news. Flick needs his full squad. PSG and Real Madrid are both hard tests.
Depth will matter this week.
A win at PSG would lift belief. A win in the Clasico would widen the gap. Two wins would make this week perfect.
Betis must regroup fast. They fought hard with ten men. They will want a better result next time.
The record is set. The hard games keep coming. If Barcelona win those too, this start will grow into something special.
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