Barcelona: Lionel Messi scored twice and set up another as Barcelona defeated Real Betis 5-2 on Saturday (November 7) returning to winning ways after a four-match winless run. The much-needed win came just before the international break.
Ronald Koeman, who had a huge pressure to win the game benched Messi, due to technical reasons. Coming off the bench he scored twice and set up another in the second half that sealed the win. This game also saw the 17-year-old Pedri, score his first goal for Barcelona in La Liga.
Antoine Griezmann missed a number of chances in the first half. The Frenchman provided an assist to Ousmane Dembélé, who scored the opening goal on 22 minutes. Ansu Fati then earned a penalty that Griezmann missed. The equaliser was scored by Antonio Sanabria just before half time, from Cristian Tello’s cross.
After halftime, Koeman brought in Messi to turn the game in their favour and that was exactly the scenario as he scored a brace and set up another goal. Messi’s best contribution was a dummy he set up Griezmann for a simple tap in on 49 minutes. He scored twice then, one from the spot on 61 minutes and his first open goal of the season on 82 minutes, assisted by Sergi Roberto.
The second goal for Betis was scored by Lorenzo Jesús Morón García on 71 minutes. On 90 minutes, the young talented Pedri scored his first goal in La Liga as he helped his team win 5-2 in what was a much needed win for his team.
