Barca thrash Betis to stay ahead of rampant Madrid

BARCELONA: Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on Saturday to move a step closer to winning La Liga for the first time since 2019. Real Madrid beat Almeria 4-2 to cut the gap to eight points earlier on but Barcelona triumphed to restore their 11 point advantage. Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha struck for Barca at Camp Nou with Guido Rodriguez netting a late own goal to round off the rout.

Edgar Gonzalez’s early dismissal made it an easy night for Xavi Hernandez’s side to protect their lead with six games remaining. With his side comfortably winning, Xavi brought on 15-year-old forward Lamine Yamal to become the club’s youngest ever player to debut in La Liga. Betis also brought on veteran Joaquin Sanchez, 41, for his final appearance at Camp Nou before he retires at the end of the season, and he was afforded a standing ovation by Barcelona supporters.

The Catalans bounced back from a 2-1 defeat by Rayo Vallecano in midweek. “We generated a reaction,” said Xavi. “We improved a lot, it was a very good reaction from the whole team.

“We went 1-0 up and after the red card, it was in our favor.” Xavi brought Christensen into the starting line-up after injury and he made a quick impact on his return. Raphinha whipped in a vicious ball which Ronald Araujo narrowly missed but Christensen followed in behind to power a header home. Betis were set back further when defender Edgar was dismissed for two bookings after half-an-hour.

Lewandowski pounced soon after to net his 19th league goal of the season after Jules Kounde set him up with a low cross. The Pole, La Liga’s top scorer, reacted after Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema earlier netted a hat-trick to move within one of his tally. Three minutes later