Víctor Martí |
Barcelona (EFE) who caresses the title when there are six days left for the championship to end.
Goals from Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha in the first half put an end to the hopes of Betis, who see how the dream of playing for the next ‘Cahmpions’ – fourth place is now 9 points away – fades.
Barça, on the other hand, maintains eleven points compared to its closest rival, Real Madrid.
After the setback experienced in Vallecas against Rayo (2-1), the leader did not want scares and dusted off the laziness shown in recent days to tame the duel from the start. And he did it with plan A that Xavi Hernández wants: pressure and high circulation of the ball.
starting team
The Barça team was grateful to finally recover the quartet of midfielders made up of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Gavi, who in the first quarter of an hour of the game gave the Betic players no options.
Also the presence of Andreas Christensen, after a month in the dry dock due to an injury, was a blessing for the Barça team.
He missed the Andalusian team and the prominence of Sergio Canales, who disappeared in the three-quarter zone, and was only planted in Barcelona territory through full-backs Martín Montoya and Juan Miranda, both with a Barça past.
And as if that were not enough, he lamented the injury to Luiz Felipe in the 12th minute, suffering from muscular discomfort. In his place, Edgar González, one of the protagonists of the meeting, entered.
Without the Brazilian, the Barcelona fans, somewhat imprecise in the last pass, took two minutes to open the can.
Raphinha, who in a previous play Lewandowski asked for calm, found the temperance to draw a tense cross, perfect for a central defender like Christensen to rise between the defenders and elegantly finish off with his head. The Dane’s first goal in the Barça jacket, an indispensable footballer for Xavi Hernández.
Outrage on the bético bench
The goal woke up Betis, who was able to seize the ball.
Guido Rodriguez began to carburize in the midfield and the Verdiblancos footballers appeared more frequently in the Barça three-quarter zone. They only needed to connect with Willian José, substitute for the injured Borja Iglesias.
Barça stretched a little more and looked for their options in quick transitions. In one of them, Raphinha stole the ball and in his run he was knocked down by Edgar González who, according to the referee’s interpretation, deserved the card, although it seemed that he had touched the ball.
Nine minutes later, the footballer from Sallent (Barcelona) saw the second warning after a hard trip on Pedri.
The referee was warned by the fourth official and sent off Edgar due to the indignation of the Betic bench.
And that’s how Betis’ scoring options at the Spotify Camp Nou vanished.
In the 36th minute, Lewandowski, who this Saturday saw Karim Benzema present his candidacy in the race for the top scorer title, caught a cross from Koundé from the right to finish off at will and score the second.
The third shot between Barcelona’s three sticks in the first half also ended in a goal. And he did it with suspense. A millimeter pass from Busquets to Raphinha’s diagonal, who did not fail against Rui Silva. The linesman annulled it at first for the Brazilian’s offside, but after three minutes of deliberation the goal was validated.
With the game sentenced, the second half was a formality. Manuel Pellegrini brought in another center-back -Paul Akouokou- to protect himself from the Barça storm.
It only remained to be seen if other secondary elements of the match script would be fulfilled, such as the return of Ousmane Dembélé, Joaquín’s ‘last dance’ at the Camp Nou or the debut of the youngster Lamine Yamal, who at 15 years, 9 months and 16 days He opted to become the youngest footballer in the history of Barça to play with the first team.
Joaquín, substituted due to knee discomfort
And the Camp Nou witnessed these three scenes. Joaquín’s, however, did not end with a happy ending, as he withdrew in the 80th minute suffering from discomfort in his right knee, which forced his team to play with nine players. Pellegrini had already exhausted all the changes.
Before, neither Barça was able to extend the advantage – Lewandowski’s second goal was avoided by the post – nor Betis to score the goal of honor, which the ex-Barça player Juan Miranda had in a one-on-one with Ter Stegen.
Joaquín’s absence further weakened Betis, who conceded the fourth goal in the 82nd minute, the work of Guido Rodríguez on his own goal when trying to reject a shot from Ansu Fati. Even the rookie of the night touched the goal.
After a fateful night at the Camp Nou, the Sevillian team extended their negative streak and has added one point out of the last nine possible. Eight are the ones Barça needs to mathematically celebrate LaLiga. The countdown has already begun.
– Datasheet:
4 – Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Koundé, Araujo, Christensen (Marcos Alonso, min.59), Balde; Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong (Ansu Fati, 59 minutes), Pedri (Kessie, 73 minutes); Raphinha (Dembele, min.73), Lewandowski and Gavi (Lamine Yamal, min.83).
0 – Betis: Rui Silva; Montoya, Pezzella, Luiz Felipe (Edgar Gonzalez, min.12), Miranda (Joaquin, min.64); Carvalho, Guido Rodriguez; Luiz Henry (Paul Akouokou, 46th minute), Ayoze (Abner, 64th minute), Canales (Jaime, 75th minute); and Willian Joseph.
Goals: 1-0, min:14: Christensen. 2-0, min.36: Lewandowski. 3-0, min.39: Leaves. 4-0, min.82: Guido Rodriguez, own goal.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Madrid Committee). He sent off Edgar González for a double warning (min.24 and min.33). He admonished Manuel Pellegrini (min.34).
Incidents: match of day 32 of LaLiga Santander played at the Spotify Camp Nou before 88,530 spectators. Before the match, the Barça fans gave Joaquín Sánchez an ovation, who will retire once the current season is over.