Barça thrashes Betis to stay ahead of Madrid

BARCELONA

Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on April 29 night 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 its 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.”

Almost 90,000 home supporters were also treated to 15-year-old Yamal’s debut in the final stages, and the winger came close to scoring with a shot repelled by Rui Silva.

“We were talking about this on the bench, when I was at 15 I think I was playing for my neighborhood team,” added Raphinha.

“And seeing him come on in this stadium, with all these people, is incredible.”