Barcelona Thrash Betis 5-2, Atletico Madrid Edge Espanyol
Barcelona took down their first challenge in a string of tough domestic and European fixtures.
The Catalan side will face French champions PSG in the Champions League in midweek before taking on Real Madrid in El Clasico next weekend.
Hansi Flick’s team traveled to Real Betis, which fully lived up to the billing as the matchup of the weekend.
In-form winger Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the 10th minute. However, Betis leveled the score 17 minutes later through Gomez. Another rally by Barcelona restored their lead, with midfielder Rodri heading home a corner kick.
Betis refused to back down, and Giovani Lo Celso scored a golazo equalizer. Fortunately for the visitors, the goal was ruled out following a VAR review due to a handball in the buildup.
In the second half, Barcelona extended their advantage with Gabriel Jesus converting a Yamal assist to make it 3-1. Betis managed to pull one back via Abde Ezzalzouli in the 53rd minute.
Barcelona took full control of the remaining minutes of the game, banging in two goals from Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo to seal a 5-2 win and maintain their top spot on the table.
In the earlier fixture, Atletico Madrid maintained their fine form by taking a late away win at RCD Espanyol via an Alex Baena effort. The goal provided just the 3 points needed for Diego Simeone’s side to keep pace with Barcelona, who remain five points ahead.
Meanwhile, Betis remain third on the table at 19 points ahead of Real Madrid in fourth, who play Sevilla on Sunday. In other fixtures, Villarreal and Elche played out a barren draw, while Valencia and Athletic Bilbao also ended their match in a stalemate.
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