FC Barcelona 3-4 Real Betis: 5 takeaways from the game
FC Barcelona were outplayed by Real Betis at the Camp Nou on Sunday. Barcelona missed Phillipe Coutinho due to injury but they had the returning Lionel Messi for support. Barcelona had to fight to win against Rayo Vallecano in their previous match but hope to sail through Betis at home.
Quique Setien's men came out all guns blazing from the word go. They beat Barcelona at their own game, moving the ball, creating spaces and playing possession football. Barcelona fell behind early thanks to Junior Firpo. Joaquin doubled Betis' lead and put Barcelona in deep waters in the first half.
Barcelona showed more promise in the second half and came back with Lionel Messi's penalty. Betis, however, held their nerves and were one step ahead of the Blaugrana at every point of the game. In the end, Barcelona succumbed to a 4-3 loss to Real Betis. Although Barcelona will stay at the top of the table, their lead over Espanyol would be gone and they will stay only one point clear off Atletico Madrid.
An important game awaits Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano, but first, we look at five takeaways from the Betis game.
#5 Betis start on the front foot and keep their foot on the pedal
While many teams look to defend against Barcelona while playing at home and look for opportunities, Real Betis thought different. They passed the ball around, even though deep in their half, keeping the ball away from Barcelona. They played wonderfully through the press of Barcelona.
When they got opportunities, they broke away quickly on the counter-attack. Pique came to the rescue early but Barcelona couldn't do much about the pace and passing of Betis. Betis played through the press, took possession in centrally and teased the defence many times.
Junior Firpo and Joaquin's goals came off the brilliant counter-attacking football which left Barcelona's defence in tatters. Barcelona was outnumbered at the defensive end, giving too much space for the Betis midfield to create. Barcelona was completely outplayed in the first half.
Even after scoring, they didn't make attempts to park the bus and moved forward with intent, taking each and every chance that comes across. In the end, it was Setien outplaying Barcelona at their own game and Betis getting a deserving win.