REAL BETIS 0 BARCELONA 5: MESSI, SUAREZ RAMPANT AS LEADERS GO 11 POINTS CLEAR
11 points clear at the top of LaLiga with a win over Real Betis.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored two goals each as Barcelona secured
a hugely impressive 5-0 win away to Real Betis on Sunday.
Betis held their own in a tight first half but they had no answer to Barca's
onslaught after the break. Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring before braces
from Messi and Suarez capped a wonderful display.
The result sends Ernesto Valverde's side 11 points clear at the top of the
table, with Atletico Madrid having drawn with Girona and Valencia losing at
Las Palmas on Saturday.
Betis had won their previous two matches, scoring eight goals in the
process, and they stayed true to their bold pressing approach under Quique
Setien during a keenly contested opening 45 minutes.
Barca's control had been growing, though, despite the loss of Thomas
Vermaelen to injury towards the end of the first half, and they deserved the
lead given to them by former Sevilla captain Rakitic in the 59th minute.
Messi then fired home with aplomb after good play from Sergio Busquets
and Suarez finished well from Rakitic's cross to complete a devastating
spell for the visitors and leave the home fans stunned.
A mazy Messi run and finish made it 4-0 with 11 minutes left and Suarez
steered his strike partner's pass high into the net in the 90th minute for a
fifth, giving Barca a firmer grip on the title race and a 14th game without
defeat against Betis.
25 - Lionel Messi is the only La Liga player to score 25+ goals in each of
the last 10 seasons in all competitions. Tireless.
The home side began on the front foot, with Andres Guardado firing
narrowly wide after only three minutes, as Barca struggled to get to grips
with the home side's ferocious work-rate.
The visitors slowly settled as Betis began to drop deeper, though, and Sergi
Roberto missed a good chance to break the deadlock 25 minutes in when
he fired Suarez's lay-off over the bar.
Messi was becoming increasingly involved and he was next to come close
to the opening goal, rippling the side-netting from six yards out after
Suarez had played him in with a fine pass.
The half ended in disappointment for Barca, though, as Vermaelen limped
off with what looked like a hamstring problem, with Samuel Umtiti on to
replace him for his first appearance in LaLiga since December 2.
The injury did little to throw the visitors out of their stride as their pressure
grew in the second half and they at last found the breakthrough just before
the hour mark.
Suarez's superb throughball picked out the run from Rakitic, who had
plenty of time to stride towards goal and slot the ball left-footed beneath
Antonio Adan and into the net.
5 - Ivan Rakitic has scored five goals against Real Betis in La Liga, his
favourite opponent in the competition. Seville. H
Five minutes later, the game was effectively over. Busquets robbed Fabian
Ruiz in his own half and played the ball through to Messi, who turned to
face Adan and rifled a low shot into the right-hand corner.
Suarez made certain of the points in the 69th minute, the Uruguay star
volleying Rakitic's cross off the turf and into the bottom-right corner after
some more fine play from Messi.
Betis' fight had all but evaporated and they allowed Messi to score his
19th league goal of the season in style, the 30-year-old weaving his way
into the penalty area before side-footing past a disconsolate Adan.
There was just enough time for Messi to lay on a fifth for Suarez and cap a
brilliant display, the former Liverpool man blasting the ball high into the
net from 12 yards out for his 100th goal in Spain's top flight after his
strike partner had squeezed the ball into his path.
Comments
Post a Comment