Barcelona beats Real Betis 5-2 in Seville to stay perfect in LaLiga

A perfect start in Seville

Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 at La Cartuja on Saturday, 17 October, in the ninth round of LaLiga, collecting a ninth win from nine games. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the 10th minute, finishing from outside the area into the top left corner after a solo run. Valentín Gómez levelled for Betis in the 27th minute with a header from a corner. Rodri headed Barcelona back in front in the 41st minute, so the visitors led 1-2 at half-time. Giovani Lo Celso had struck a long-range shot just before the break, but VAR ruled it out for a handball by Cucho Hernández at the start of the move.

The second half and the red card

Gabriel Jesus made it 1-3 in the 51st minute, finishing a pass from Yamal. Abde Ezzalzouli pulled one back for Betis in the 53rd minute, finishing a fast counterattack. Facundo Bernal was shown a straight red card in the 54th minute after an altercation with Yamal, which SAPO reports involved a headbutt. Betis played the rest of the match with ten men. Eric García, a second-half substitute, made it 2-4, and Dani Olmo completed the scoring in the 81st minute with a shot into the right corner.

Pellegrini and Flick react

Manuel Pellegrini described the performance of referee De Burgos Bengoetxea as lamentable and said it affected decisive plays in the match.

I thought it was a lamentable performance, absolutely without football sense, because it had an effect on decisive plays.

Pellegrini argued that the sending-off decided the game, saying Yamal pushed and provoked Bernal, and that a referee with football sense would have booked both players rather than penalise one for responding to aggression. He also disputed the ruling on the Lo Celso goal, arguing that the handball came after a Barcelona player had pushed Cucho back and was far from the goal. He said the 5-2 scoreline did not reflect a match in which Betis had played within what was expected of them.

Hansi Flick, speaking after the match, called Yamal the best player in the world at present, saying the 19-year-old carried heavy pressure while playing almost every game. Flick said he had not seen the incidents and would not comment on them. He added that Eric García might have only a knock, pending tests, and that Koundé had also had some problems, so the squad needed to recover before Tuesday's match against PSG.

Bernal apologised on Instagram to his teammates and supporters in his own words.

I want to apologise to my teammates and the Real Betis fans for leaving the team with one player fewer today.

He admitted that he should have controlled himself in that play and promised it would not happen again.

Standings and what comes next

Barcelona top LaLiga with 27 points from nine matches, five points ahead of Atlético Madrid, which won 1-0 at Espanyol the same afternoon. Betis are third with 19 points. Real Madrid are fourth on 18 points and could overtake Betis with a win at home to Sevilla on Sunday. Blick notes that Barcelona matched the best start to a LaLiga season, a mark Real Madrid had also reached with nine wins, while 20 Minuten says it is the first time in the club's history that Barça have won their opening nine league games. Barcelona next face PSG on Tuesday at the Parc des Princes, with the Clásico against Real Madrid about a week away.