A greatly competitive 90 minutes saw the Blaugranas come out victorious against a tough Real Betis side, snatching all the 3 points away from the Benito Villamarín. Once again, Manuel Pellegrini’s men proved to be a difficult opponent, but in the end, La Blaugrana managed to overcome and with their victory, extend their lead at the top of the table.
While many might have raised their eyebrows when hearing the gaffer’s words, Xavi Hernández hailed FC Barcelona’s performance as one of the best of the season. While the attacking setup did falter often due to the resilience of the Andalusians’ defense, but in turn, our backline did everything to seize the result.
On the left side of the defense, Alejandro Baldé put on a formidable performance, bossing the left flank of La Blaugrana. The Spanish teenager, with his burst of pace and tenacious dynamism, excelled both in handling his defensive duties as well as contributing heavily to the attacks, creating chances to score as he did assist Raphinha’s opener. A monstrous game from the youngster. Third consecutive Golden boy in loading?
In the heart of the Blaugrana defense, the ever-reliable duo of Ronald Araújo and Andreas Christensen brought another casual masterclass. Their solid, composed game in the defense brought stability to the Blaugrana backline, halting the attacking attempts of Real Betis. Meanwhile, their contribution on the ball helped massively in initiating Barcelona’s buildups.
Although producing another decent performance on the right flank, Jules Koundé’s night was spoiled by an unfortunately bad touch to score in his own net and get the nerves high for the last couple of minutes of the game. At the end of the day, his game did show positives as his contribution in possession and defensive actions were on point.
