Yamal stars as Barca routs Betis in heated clash
Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 5-2 in a fiery LaLiga clash at Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla which featured seven goals, one disallowed strike, and one red card for a headbutt.
Lamine Yamal was at the heart of things, scoring a wonderful opener and assisting Gabriel Jesus later on, while the teenager was also headbutted by Facundo Bernal, which resulted in the Betis player being sent off.
The action started in the 10th minute as Yamal cut inside with brilliant skill before curling into the top-left corner, but Betis was level before the half-hour mark as Valentin Gomez headed in from Pablo Fornals's cross.
Hector Bellerin squandered a great chance, shooting straight at Joan Garcia from Fornals's cut-back, and he rued that miss immediately as Rodri headed in from Fermin Lopez's corner in the 41st minute.
Betis thought it had equalised before the break when Giovani Lo Celso scored a sensational volley from distance, only for it to be disallowed for a handball against Cucho Hernandez in the build-up, and Barca piled on the misery as Yamal squared for Gabriel Jesus to make it 3-1 six minutes after the restart.
Abde Ezzalzouli halved Barca's lead two minutes later, but his goal was overshadowed by a flashpoint as Yamal and Bernal came together seconds after the goal was scored, with the latter twice headbutting the Barcelona winger.
Betis struggled with its numerical disadvantage, and Hansi Flick's side restored its two-goal lead when Eric Garcia tapped in after a brave header back across the box from Pau Cubarsi, who also teed up Dani Olmo for a stunning finish in the 81st minute to round off the win.
Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana
FC Barcelona
