FC Barcelona faced Real Betis last night for their fifth match of the La Liga 2023-24 season. This match came after the international break, in which several Barcelona players had put in good performances.
This was the most dominant match by Barcelona up to this point in the season, as the Catalans scored five past Los Verdiblancos. New signings Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo were particularly impressive in this match, while Torres continued on his blazing form.
Pellegrini rues missed chances
As Mundo Deportivo has reported, this tie also corresponded with the birthday of Real Betis manager, the veteran Manuel Pellegrini. The coach turned 70 yesterday, but his birthday did not stop Barcelona from giving any quarters to his side on the pitch.
The Verdiblancos coach talked to the media after the game and particularly rued the chances his team missed during the match:
“You can’t miss three one-on-one chances against the goalkeeper. These are opportunities that not only need to be created but also converted. They scored two goals in the first half and could control the game in the second half. We didn’t convert them, and they did. That’s where the difference was.”
Difficult second half
Further commenting on the match, Pellegrini went on to describe Barcelona as a “very difficult” team, especially when they are ahead on the scoreboard:
“We were clearly outplayed in the second half; we took risks, left spaces, and they scored because they have a lot of quality.”
This would not have been the best of the birthdays for Manuel Pellegrini, whose team missed a golden chance at the cusp of half-time when Ter Stegen made an amazing save from a close-range shot from William Jose.
However, this might only be a bump in the road for Betis, who are looking to perform strong this season, particularly with one of former Barcelona wingers in their team, Ez Abde.
