SEVILLE.- He Barcelona (1st) rescued a 2-2 draw against an ambitious Betis in Seville thanks to their goalkeeper Iñaki Peña and the magic of Lamine Yamal this Saturday in the 16th matchday of the League, leaving their advantage over Real Madrid (2nd) at five points, who were then playing against Girona.
However, the white team has one less game, against Valencia, which they will play at the beginning of January.
For a very poor Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski scored (39), but the Argentine Giovanni Lo Celso equalized with a penalty (68), in a play in which Frenkie De Jong, who committed the foul on Vitor Roque, saw yellow and the Barça coach saw red. Hansi Flick for protesting.
“I didn’t understand my expulsion. I didn’t say anything to anyone. I had a reaction, to myself, and they expelled me for this,” the German coach said after the game.
About the match, Flick admitted: “We didn’t play well, but we have a very young team and we have to learn” from the mistakes.
In the final stretch, Ferran Torres (82) was successful in converting a stellar appearance by Yamal, and Assane Diao, spectacular with his spur to the near post (90+4), signed the final 2-2.
Lewandowski, 16 goals
Lewandowski, who reached 16 goals in the League, had appeared on the line to seal a twisted play that Yamal had started, with Pedri emerging to give the right touch towards Jules Koundé, in charge of the decisive pass.
It was an excessive reward for a Barça team far from its best physical and football version, without continuity in the game, at the expense of a Betis with more desire and resources.
From the first minute, when Barça captain Raphinha took a shot from Marc Bartra almost from the goal, Betis put the pressure on.
In the next action it was another ex-Azulgrana, Abde, who stood up to Iñaki Peña, the savior with a stretch from Marc-André Ter Stegen, injured all season, whom he replaced in goal.
Peña continued to establish himself in the second half, with an impressive flight after a half-turned shot by Roque (53), on loan from Barcelona to Betis.
500 Pellegrini matches
The local siege found a reward in the 64th minute: a tackle by Frenkie de Jong on Roque himself resulted in triple punishment. Penalty after consultation with the VAR, yellow for the Dutch midfielder and red for Flick for protesting.
After several minutes of agitation, Lo Celso scored and pointed to the Betis shield.
The party at the Benito Villamarín, which continued with the return of Isco (76) after six months of absence, was spoiled by Yamal, who threatened with a ‘Messianica’ play in which he dribbled past Betis, canceled due to offside by Ferran Torres.
Just afterwards he managed to connect legally with Torres, who made the final score 2-1, after several minutes of consulting the VAR.
Finally, Diao, with an aesthetic spur, gave a point to Betis, a gift for its coach, the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, who reached 500 games in the League, the first foreigner to reach this figure.
Despite this milestone, the ‘Engineer’ did not leave happy: “I think that today we lost two points, we deserved more. The game leaves me satisfied, but the result is bitter,” said the Chilean.
