Betis 2-2 Barcelona (Dec 7, 2024) Game Analysis

LaLiga leaders Barcelona needed to accept a 2-2 draw at mid-table Actual Betis after substitute Assane Diao scored a stoppage-time equaliser on Saturday to provide Manuel Pellegrini trigger to rejoice in his five hundredth LaLiga recreation as a supervisor.

Barca have 38 factors from 17 matches however second-placed Actual Madrid, who’ve 33 with two video games in hand, can slender the hole to 2 factors in the event that they win at Girona afterward Saturday.

“We weren’t capable of end issues off within the second half, to place the end result past doubt. However we now stay up for the following recreation, there is no time,” mentioned Barcelona’s Ferran Torres, who bought their second after Robert Lewandowski had put them 1-0 up.

The guests created numerous probabilities early on and Lamine Yamal, making simply his second begin after a four-week absence with an ankle harm, was principally within the thick of the motion.

The 17-year-old induced quite a few issues for Betis within the first half along with his silky footwork and creative passing.

Barca opened the scoring within the thirty ninth minute via a flowing transfer orchestrated by Yamal and neatly completed by Lewandowski for his sixteenth league purpose of the season.

Betis confirmed extra intent after the break as Sergi Altimira and Abde Ezzalzouli despatched headers simply extensive earlier than the hosts’ stress was rewarded with a penalty within the 68th minute.

Frenkie De Jong clattered into Barca loanee Vitor Roque and the spot kick was given after a VAR assessment, with visiting coach Hansi Flick being despatched off for his vociferous protests.

Giovani Lo Celso stepped as much as convert and stage the match, however Barcelona regained the lead within the 82nd minute as Yamal’s brilliance as soon as once more shone via, along with his well-disguised via ball discovering its approach to Torres who scored.

Nonetheless, there was one closing twist in an exciting contest, and Pellegrini’s substitutions paid dividends as two of them mixed for the equaliser, with Aitor Ruibal’s harmful cross flicked into the online by Diao with a cheeky backheel.

“Effectively, I believe we deserved not less than a draw,” Diao mentioned. “We defended and attacked as a workforce. We went for the three factors. We could not get that, however we deserved a draw.”

Betis, who stay eleventh, shall be glad to have snapped a two-game shedding streak however they haven’t received a LaLiga match since October.

“By way of efficiency, we wanted it,” Pellegrini mentioned. “I believe the workforce has to regain confidence with in the present day’s efficiency, and hopefully construct as much as three factors.”