Real Betis 0-2 Barcelona: 5 talking points
Barcelona secured a hard-earned 2-0 victory over Real Betis as the Seville side put up a tough fight, even after having their German centre-back Heiko Westermann sent off early on in the game. The win at the Benito Villamarin stadium saw the Catalans regain the top spot in La Liga after both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid spent brief spells at the top of the table.
The visitors took the lead ten minutes into the second half through midfielder Ivan Rakitic after he capitalised on a miscommunication between Betis keeper Antonio Adan and centre-back German Pezzella as slotted the ball into an open net.
In-form striker Luis Suarez was on the scoresheet yet again for the Catalans as he scored the second goal of the match ten minutes from time. The Uruguayan has now taken his tally to 35 league goals for the season.
Here are five talking points from the game:
Frustrating first half
It is safe to say that the match didn’t exactly have an exciting first half. Both teams failed to create any real chances. The keepers on both sides remained untested at the end of the first 45 minutes. The Betis defence stayed compact and didn’t leave any gaps, keeping the Catalans at bay.
Barcelona found it difficult to dominate the game even after Betis centre-back Heiko Westermann got sent off in the 35th minute when he received his second yellow card for a rash and unnecessary challenge on Ivan Rakitic.
The only highlights during the first half were the seven cards that referee Antonio Lahoz awarded.