Bravery supports Barça in the Villamarín

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The noise from the Bernabéu emboldened Barça to silence Villamarín and encourage the debate about the leadership of the League.

Betis was not enough with the talent of a former Madrid player like Isco to contain a Barca team that was finer than ever, efficient as usual and so ambitious that it did not stop attacking until it once again achieved victory in the end, now without Lewandowski. dazzled by Ferran's hat trick.

As happened in Montjuïc, the catalyst was João Félix, author of the 2-3 score, while Lamine Yamal stood out as the figure of the stimulating collective work of Xavi's team.

BETBetis

2

Rui Silva, Sokratis, Héctor Bellerín, Pezzella, Abner, Luiz Henrique, Isco Alarcón, Assane Diao, Marc Roca, Johnny (Sergi Altimira, min. 72) and Willian José (Borja Iglesias, min. 45)

BCN Barcelona

4

Iñaki Peña, Pau Cubarsí, Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Alex Balde, Gündogan, Frenkie De Jong, Pedri (Fermín López, min. 71), Lewandowski (Vitor Roque, min. 63), Lamine Yamal and Ferrán Torres

Goals

0-1 min.

20: Ferrán Torres.

0-2 min.

48: Ferrán Torres.

1-2 min.

56: Isco Alarcón.

2-2 min.

59: Isco Alarcón.

2-3 min.

89: João Félix.

2-4 min.

91: Ferrán Torres.

Referee

Jesús Gil Manzano

Yellow cards Frenkie De Jong (min. 57), Abner (min. 72) and Vitor Roque (min. 96)

The feeling is that Barça usually plays at Villamarín with a happy and youthful air, as if the stage invited them to return in search of their football origins, invited by the artistic football of Betis and also marked by the impact of that 1 -5 reached by the Quinta de Lo Pelat in 1995. This explains the presence in the lineup of two 16-year-old players such as the center-back Curbasí and the winger Yamal.

Both helped the team deploy in a harmonious and comfortable manner due to the lack of opposition from Betis, who became a spectator of the match after Luiz Henrique did not complete an assist from Isco.

On the other hand, Ferran did not forgive in the goal mouth after being enabled by Pedri in an action started by Gündogan and interrupted by a rebound from Marc Roca.

Betis allowed itself to be done due to the impatience of the fans and Barcelona associated and combined with the ball in a way that had not been remembered since the Green and Whites visited Montjuïc and were defeated 5-0 in a day marked by the exhibition of João Félix.

The current substitution of the Portuguese explains in some way the change experienced by Barça since then.

The Blaugrana have relaxed and their luck in most games depends especially on the opponent's proposal, which in the case of Betis was very generous in the two League games.

More information

Xavi's optimism and Ferran Torres' praise: “Barça makes you feel small, that you are worthless”

The Green and Whites were a very generous team that for a long time was at the mercy of Barcelona and, especially, the activity of a fast and talented Yamal.

The winger helped a lot in defense and always unbalanced in attack - one of his shots was returned by the post - to Villamarín's unrest.

The Barcelona fans were unable to close the game before the break because they missed Lewandowski.

The striker, whose goal was annulled by the VAR for offside, was unable to complete the hegemony of his teammates on the field against a decimated and absent Betis team.

Nothing was heard from the debutant Johnny Cardoso and Isco's football was insufficient to tickle Barcelona's defence.

Pellegrini soon tried to change the script with two very unique attackers: Fekir and Borja Iglesias.

Neither of them had in any case the weight of Yamal.

The winger returned to take the lead won by Cubarsí, progressed along his right side, overtook Abner and his cross was spit out by the wood before falling at Ferran's feet.

The Foios striker scored a second goal that he credits as the scorer against Lewandowski's astonishment.

Betis, however, woke up 0-2 while Barcelona fell asleep.

The green and white team only needed three minutes and two plays to tie a game that had been Barça's from the start until Isco's two goals.

The match slipped out of Barcelona's hands in the blink of an eye, a sign of their lack of skill and maturity, always exposed to adversity and the success of the opponent, personalized in Isco, excellent when he hooked the shot conceded by a lukewarm rejection from Peña and the indecision of Araujo and accuracy after a ball that Borja Iglesias did not touch.

Xavi's response was to replace the insubstantial Lewandowski with Vitor Roque and the intermittent Pedri with the fiery Fermín.

Nothing changed, however, until João Félix came out when the match was very indefinite.

The Portuguese shot the wall with Ferran and finished with the outside to score 2-3.

An extraordinary goal for a victory that Ferran signed three goals, the last also through Yamal.

The effectiveness of the two strikers revealed Lewandowski.

The winger's dribbling and striker's punch redeemed a permeable defense, with and without Araujo, and ended Betis' undefeated status at Villamarín.

The Blaugrana have not lost on the green and white field since 2008. The latest victory allows them not to fall behind in the League and to be encouraged with a view to Wednesday's Cup match in San Mamés.

In the absence of reliability, self-esteem helps a team under construction, as Xavi states.

The coach comes out stronger for the moment after a better-played game than many of the previous ones since Montjuïc's 5-0 against Betis itself.

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