Torres hat-trick for Barça rebuffs Isco-inspired Betis comeback
With the pressure increasing on Barcelona boss Xavi, victory was vital for the Catalans, but they were coming up against a Betis side that were unbeaten at home in LaLiga this season.
The hosts almost netted the opening goal inside four minutes after Isco showed nimble feet to carry the ball forward and played Luiz Henrique through, but the Brazilian couldn’t keep his effort down and his lob hit the roof of the net.
Barça began to take control of proceedings from there, and in similar circumstances to Betis’ chance, Frenkie de Jong picked out Pedri but the Spaniard also failed to keep his looping shot down.
With over 75% of possession, the Blaugrana were beginning to look more threatening and the deadlock was inevitably broken midway through the half. Ilkay Gundogan’s pass was deflected into the path of Pedri, whose cutback was simply tapped in by Ferran Torres.
The opening goal clearly boosted the confidence of the Barça players as they went in search of a second before the break, but the woodwork denied Lamine Yamal, who had shown great composure to cut into the box from the right but his shot cannoned off the post. The away side also saw a Robert Lewandowski effort chalked off before the interval due to an offside, keeping Betis’ deficit to one.
Within a few minutes of the restart, Barça had doubled their lead and once again, Torres was involved as Yamal’s cross struck the post but the rebound fell kindly to the Spaniard to double his tally on the night.
With a two-goal lead, it seemed like it was going to be plain sailing for Xavi’s men, but Betis exceptionally hit back with two Isco goals in the space of three minutes.
The first was emphatically powered into the roof of the net, and then Henrique’s clipped ball into the box was missed by Borja Iglesias, which allowed the ex-Real Madrid midfielder to prod it home on the stretch - a superb finish to draw his side level.
With honours even, the match was finely poised going into the final half-hour and either side could have won it.
But in the end, a moment of individual brilliance from Joao Felix in the 90th minute with the outside of his boot punished Betis, and as the hosts pushed for a stoppage-time equaliser, they were hit on the break with Torres completing his hat-trick to cement his side’s position in the top-four.
Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis find themselves four points adrift of the European places with just one win from their last seven league matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ferran Torres (Barcelona)
