FC Barcelona 1-1 Betis: Unexpected setback to keep the LaLiga battle alive

FC Barcelona suffered an unexpected setback on their path to the title of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25. The Catalan team returned to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to face Betis on matchday 30 of the competition, encountering a rival that stood its ground and, in a brutal display of resilience, salvaged a miraculous draw against a Barça side that relentlessly sought the winning goal but had no luck in front of goal (1-1).

Nevertheless, this draw allows the Catalans to increase their lead at the top of the standings (67), surpassing Real Madrid (63) and Atlético de Madrid (57) and remaining firm in the championship race.

The team led by Hansi Flick dominated the match from the very first second, and in the 7th minute they took the lead with a stunning goal from Gavi after a great collective play. However, the visitors managed to equalize in the 17th minute thanks to a header from Natan, and despite the constant assaults from the Catalans, they managed to pull off the miracle and left the blaugrana stronghold with a point in their pocket, delivering one of the surprises of the day.

A hard-fought first half for Barça

The Betis took to the field at Montjuïc ready to fight, although the dominance of Barça was clear and overwhelming. The Catalans, aware that a victory would practically put the title of La Liga within reach, came out with blood in their eyes, and in the 6th minute Pedri sent the first warning with a powerful shot from the edge of the box that nearly found its way into the top corner of Adrián's goal, who made a good save to repel the effort from the Canary.

However, in the subsequent play, the Betis goalkeeper could do little to prevent the fall of his net. In the 7th minute, Jules Koundé stole the ball on the right side of the field and passed it to Lamine Yamal, who after a great individual action found Ferran Torres at the edge of the area, and he, first time, assisted Gavi to break the deadlock with a spectacular cross shot.

The Andalusian did not celebrate due to his past with the verdiblanco, as he was part of the youth academy of the Andalusian club, and quickly ran to embrace Hansi Flick, in an emotional gesture that highlights the great relationship between the midfielder and the coach. The Catalans continued their siege in the opponent's half and kept dominating after the goal, although Betis would deliver a surprise a few minutes later.

The team of Manuel Pellegrini was suffering greatly, and in the 17th minute, they would see the light at the end of the tunnel. Antony conjured a corner from nothing, and Natan soared through the air at the Estadi Olímpic, winning the duel against a force like Ronald Araujo, to connect with a great cross sent by Lo Celso, leveling the score in a surprising manner.

Despite this unexpected blow, Barça showed character and authority to get back into the match, although the visitors were improving and looking to punish on the counter, but the brutal retreat of the blaugranas in defense prevented them from easily approaching Szczesny's area. Ferran Torres could have scored the second goal of the night, but his first-time shot in the small area went wide, and later, Lamine grazed his goal with a double chance that was controlled by the Betis defense. Thus, both teams headed to the locker rooms with much to define.

Betis salvaged a miraculous draw in Montjuïc

Upon returning from the break, both teams maintained the trend of the first 45 minutes. The Betis came out to bite, and shortly after the restart, Cucho Hernández won the race against Frenkie de Jong and was close to breaking free in the blaugrana area, but a slip prevented the play from going any further.

Shortly after, in the 55th minute, Adrián made one of the saves of the day against a close-range shot from Jules Koundé. The Frenchman connected inside the area after a brutal assist from Pedri and sent a left-footed shot that seemed destined to break the Betis goal, but the goalkeeper made a saving hand to maintain the equality on the scoreboard.

The superiority of Barça was evident, and due to their constant assaults on the Andalusian area, the feeling was that the goal was imminent. However, the Betis players had a clear objective in sight and showed significant concentration in defense, performing a brutal exercise of resistance. Thus, in the 62nd minute, Bartra cleared a left-footed shot from Gavi from the edge that was heading for the goal.

The Catalans continued their siege in the Betis field, but Pellegrini's 'wall' managed to hold on to a miraculous draw. In the final moments, Raphinha sent a dangerous cross into the area, and Diego Llorente barely grazed it to prevent Fermín López from pushing the ball in and giving the agonizing victory to the Catalans, who could not take full advantage of Madrid's slip, although they increased their lead at the top of the table to 4 points.

Barça remains the sole leader of LaLiga

The Barcelona arrived at this Saturday's match with the obligation to secure three points to deliver a definitive blow to LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25. After the historic embarrassment against Valencia, Real Madrid (63) was three points behind the Catalans with a game in hand, waiting to see what happens in the match between Atlético de Madrid (57) and Sevilla this Sunday.

However, Betis managed to put up resistance in Montjuïc and, despite being tremendously inferior, salvaged a miraculous draw to break the consecutive winning streak of Hansi Flick's team (67). Nevertheless, the Catalans maintain their brutal run of results since the start of the year and remain unbeaten, accumulating 29 points out of 33 with 9 victories and 2 draws, surpassing the rojiblancos (57) and the madridistas (63) in the table.

Beyond this setback, Barça remains firm on the 'throne' of the local competition.  The blaugranas continue to be undefeated and increased their lead to four points over Madrid, getting closer to their twenty-eighth title of LaLiga. Now, the focus is on the Champions League, where they will host Borussia Dortmund in Montjuïc next Wednesday at 21:00 to take the first step towards the semifinals of the European competition.

Match technical sheet:    

• FC Barcelona, 1: Szczesny (P); Koundé, Cubarsí, Araujo, Balde (Martín, min. 75); Frenkie de Jong (Eric García, min. 57), Pedri (Fermín López, min. 75), Gavi; Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres (Raphinha, min. 57), Lewandowski.
• Betis, 1: Adrián, Ruibal, Bartra, Natan, Perraud; Altimira (Avila, min. 46), Johnny (Llorente, min. 78), Antony (Rodríguez, min. 75), Fornals; Lo Celso (Carvalho, min. 59), Cucho (Bakambu, min. 75).
• Goals: 1-0 Gavi (min. 7); 1-1 Natan (min. 17).
• Referee: Gil Manzano. Amonestó al bético Natan y a los culés Koundé y Eric García.