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 BARCELONA 4-0 BETIS: 

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI 

NETS 19TH LEAGUE GOAL 

AS CATALANS EDGE CLOSER 

TO LA LIGA TITLE:

Following Saturday night's rout of Real Betis with 10 men at Camp Nou, Barcelona needs eight more points to win La Liga. Before Betis had Edgar Gonzalez sent off 20 minutes after his introduction, Andreas Christensen had scored the game's first goal. With goals from Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, Xavi's team had a three-goal advantage at the half. Ansu Fati added another after the interval.

Barcelona defeated Real Betis with 10 men, 4-0, moving them closer to the La Liga championship.

The damage was done in the first half, and Andreas Christensen gave Xavi's team the lead after 14 minutes with his first club goal.

Twenty minutes after his arrival, Edgar Gonzalez—the injured Luiz Felipe's replacement—was dismissed after receiving a second yellow card.

Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona minutes after they had a man advantage, and Raphinha added a third before halftime.

Barcelona had numerous opportunities to increase their advantage in the second half, and they did so when Ansu Fati scored with 10 minutes remaining.

Barcelona now needs eight more points to win La Liga after the victory.

Christensen was entirely unimpeded in the box as he skillfully headed Raphinha's inswinging cross past Rui Silva to give Barcelona the lead.

Felipe's injury led Betis to make an early substitution, and Gonzalez, who took his place, was sent for fouls on Raphinha and Pedri.

Moments later, Lewandowski scored his 19th league goal of the year for Barcelona, giving them their second goal of the match. Betis now had a significant uphill battle to overcome.

Jules Kounde received the ball from Gavi on the right and sent a precise cross that Lewandowski was able to latch onto and direct across the goal face and into the far bottom corner.

Raphina met Sergio Busquets' expertly timed through ball and dinked the ball past Silva for a third goal, but the flag was raised for offside. The judgement was reversed and the goal was awarded following a thorough VAR review.

Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo both missed clear-cut opportunities to give Barcelona a fourth goal, however.

With ten minutes left, substitute Fati scored a fourth goal to help Betis get back to nine players after the injury-plagued Joaquin, 41, left the game shortly after entering.

Lamine Jamal, 15, became the fifth-youngest player in the entire division when he entered the game with seven minutes remaining and created La Liga history for Barcelona.

TALKING POINT - BARCELONA NEED EIGHT POINTS TO SEAL THE TITLE:

Barcelona will need eight points from their final six games to clinch the Spanish championship for the first time since 2018/19 as long as Real Madrid keeps winning.

Barcelona had the attitude of a winner to respond to Real Madrid's victory earlier in the day, and they easily defeated Betis on Saturday night, despite the fact that the visitors were down a man and had failed to score in three of their previous five La Liga games.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - RAPHINHA (BARCELONA):

After a shaky start, the Brazilian turned things around and played a significant role as Barcelona dominated the first 45 minutes of the match.

He almost ended the game for Barcelona by setting up Christensen to guide the ball past Silva and then adding his own with a deft dinked finish.

PLAYER RATINGS:

Barcelona: ter Stegen 6, Kounde 8, Araujo 7 Christensen 8, Balde 7, de Jong 6, Busquets 8, Pedri 7, Raphinha 8, Lewandowski 8, Gavi 7

Subs: Alonso 6, Kessie 6, Dembele 6, Fati 6, Yamal 6

Betis: Silva 6, Montoya 5, Felipe 6, Pezzella 6, Miranda 6, Rodriguez 5, Carvalho 5, Henrique 6, Canales 6, Perez 6, Jose 6

Subs: Gonzalez 3, Abner 6, Akoukou 6, Juanmi 6, Joaquin 6

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

14’ - GOAL! BARCELONA 1-0 BETIS (CHRISTENSEN) -Raphinha delivers the cross with quality this time around as he takes his time. As he makes his way home, he has plenty of time to whip in an inswinging cross towards Christensen at the back post, who is completely unmarked.

33’ - THE SUBSTITUTE IS SENT OFF! With a last-second challenge, Edgar defeats Pedri and is issued a second booking! He has only been playing for 20 minutes! For Betis, the challenge ahead is enormous.

36’ - GOAL! BARCELONA 2-0 BETIS (LEWANDOWSKI) - The situation only gets worse for Betis! Jules Kounde receives a pass from Gavi on the right and sends a precise cross that Lewandowski latches onto and directs across the goal face and into the far bottom corner. What a way to score his season-high 19th league goal!

39’ - RAPHINHA HAS THE BALL IN THE NET… He's offside, though! A superb through pass from Sergio Busquets finds the Brazilian just drifting offside before he dinks the ball past Silva. Although VAR is investigating, it appears that he started his run too soon.

42’ - GOAL! BARCELONA 3-0 BETIS (RAPHINHA) -Goal still stands! The decision is reversed after a protracted VAR review, and Raphinha scores!

68’ - ARAUJO HEADS OVER FROM CLOSE RANGE! Barcelona gets another chance, but this time the defender fails to keep his header down.

82’ - GOAL! BARCELONA 4-0 BETIS (FATI) -Ansu Fati drills a cross that appears to be going in but deflects just enough to cross the goal line.

KEY STAT:

 Lamine Yamal became the fifth player overall and the LaLiga's youngest player to make his debut for Barcelona:

Luka Romero (15 years, 219 days).

Samson (15y, 255d)

Pedro Irastorza (15y, 288d)

Óscar Ramón (15y, 289d)

LAMINE YAMAL (15y, 290d)

THANKS FOR READING.