Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona: Three Things We Learned

Barcelona overcame some late adversity to defeat Real Betis last night and move eight points clear at the top of the La Liga table.

In what was always going to be an entertaining game, Barcelona and Real Betis stuck to their word and played out a clash that personifies what Spanish football is all about.

The visitors were able to build a 2-0 lead in the second half before the hosts pulled one back, but in the end, Barcelona walked away with the spoils.

Today, we’re going to pick out a few notable takeaways from the fixture.

Betis show heart
After gritting it out for over an hour, Betis finally caved and couldn’t hold Barca off any longer – but to us, that isn’t a sign of weakness – especially given how they fought back. They went toe to toe with top of the table and even though the possession stats weren’t in their favour, they kept it close. A loss is a loss, but a place in the top four still isn’t all too far away.

Controversy arises?
William Carvalho was sent off after the final whistle due to his protests towards the referee. Throughout the course of the game, Betis clearly felt like decisions weren’t going their way – and they maintained that chip on their shoulder. Regardless of whether you buy into that theory or not, this is the kind of thing that can push a club on to even bigger and better things.

Barca mean business
Barcelona had 13 shots, 64% possession, and the will power to dig deep when it seemed as if they just couldn’t break through. Xavi has reintroduced a winning mentality into this team and it really is great to see, given how far they’ve come in the last two years. If they can keep this up, they’ll be mixing it up with the big boys of Europe again in no time.