Barcelona maintained their five-point lead at the top of La Liga with an entertaining 5-2 win over Real Betis, as Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Gabriel Jesus, Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo all found the net.
The two sides, who are both competing in this season’s Champions League, produced an end-to-end contest in which Betis played the final 40 minutes with 10 men. Facundo Bernal was sent off following an incident away from the ball involving Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal.
With nine days to go until the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards, teenage contender Yamal opened the scoring with a superb strike from outside the penalty area. He created space with a clever ball roll and flick to evade a defender before sending a powerful effort beyond Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles.
The hosts were level less than 20 minutes later. Former West Ham midfielder Pablo Fornals delivered a cross which Valentin Gomez headed into the Barcelona goal.
Barcelona regained their advantage before the interval when 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri rose to head in a corner from Fermin Lopez. It was Rodri’s first goal for Barca since his summer move from Manchester City.
Betis thought they had equalised again when former Tottenham midfielder Giovanni Lo Celso scored with a long-range half-volley. However, the effort was disallowed because of a handball in the build-up. The infringement had occurred about 15 seconds before the shot, but was judged to be part of the same phase of play.
Jesus had earlier seen a goal ruled out for offside, but he did extend Barcelona’s lead soon afterwards. A flowing passing move ended with Yamal supplying the ball from close range, leaving Jesus with the simple task of turning it into an empty net.
Betis responded immediately through Abde Ezzalzouli, who finished a rapid counter-attack to reduce the deficit to one goal.
The goal was followed by a confrontation between the players. Bernal clashed with Yamal, grabbed the Barcelona forward and moved his head towards him, resulting in his dismissal.
Barcelona restored their two-goal cushion through Garcia, who joined a group of former Manchester City players on the scoresheet. After a Yamal free-kick was blocked, Pau Cubarsi squared the loose ball for Garcia to score from close range while Betis failed to clear.
Substitute Dani Olmo completed the scoring during the final 10 minutes with a neat finish from the edge of the area.
The result was Hansi Flick’s side’s 11th victory in 11 games in all competitions this season. Barcelona are five points ahead of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga and nine clear of Real Madrid, who have played one match fewer.
