FC Barcelona claim 4–0 victory over Betis and top spot to end 2015
Luis Suárez bags second-half double after Lionel Messi in his 500th game scores and Betis help out with an own-goal
When people say that it starts and ends with Lionel Messi, they are usually referring to FC Barcelona’s overwhelming success over the past decade being inextricably linked to the performance of their number 10.
Wednesday was living proof. Messi — making his 500th Barça appearance — jolted the crowd out of its collective stupor following a lacklustre opening 20 minutes of play, then gave the stadium the scare of its life moments later, and closed out the electrifying fifteen-minute sequence with one of his signature goals.
Messi’s score — which came after an own-goal by Betis — culminated a dramatic 15-minute stretch and Luis Suárez rounded out the scoring with a second half double as FC Barcelona cruised to a 4–0 victory over Real Betis before 83,630 fans who came out on a crisp but comfortable evening at Camp Nou.
Prior to kick off the players offered up to those in attendance the five cups the team claimed in 2015.
The win keeps the Catalans atop the league table, even with Atlético Madrid on points but ahead on goal differential. It is Barça’s seventh straight home win versus Betis, which lost for just the third time this season on the road.
With the crowd buried into the backs of their seats, Messi provoked the first stirring of the evening around the midway through the first half when he lined up for a long free kick before sending it just wide to the right of Real Betis goalkeeper Antonio Adán.
Betis answered moments later at the other end with two shots of their own, but FCB goalkeeper Claudio Bravo snagged Álvaro Cejudo’s blast from head on. Betis’ Dani Ceballos then stripped Dani Alves on the outlet and closed in on Bravo only to have the shot blocked.
Barça quickly marched back up field, where Neymar headed straight at Adán from the penalty spot.
On the next play, Camp Nou stood still.
With Barça still pushing forward, in the 27th minute, Sergio Busquets floated a lob into the area. With Messi and Adán converging at the same time, Adán dove to fist the ball away and his hip caught the Barça star square on the head, sending Messi straight down. There was a huge gasp, and then silence, as a medical cart was immediately waved onto the field. Amidst the confusion, the referee pulled the yellow card from his pocket, showed it to Adán, and pointed to the spot, much to the chagrin of the Betis players, who felt the contact was incidental.
After a few dramatic moments, Messi, still dazed, made it to his feet and ceded the penalty kick to Neymar.
Neymar tiptoed up to the ball in an effort to catch Adán leaning, but the Betis keeper held his ground and Neymar unleashed a blast that clanged hard off the cross bar. FCB’s Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suárez charged in for the rebound and were in position to make a play, but Betis defender Heiko Westermann slipped between the two and, in an attempt to clear, toed the ball in to his own goal to give Barça the 1–0 lead.
In the 34th minute Messi and Neymar combined on a perfectly timed give-and-go that ended with Messi burying a low shot past Adán to make it 2–0.
In that fifteen minute window, Messi had woken up the crowd while barely missing a long free kick, provoked a penalty kick that would lead to Barça’s first goal — while scaring the wits out of any and all Barça fans following the game — and completed the circle with a goal of his own, Barça’s second.
In the 38th Suárez almost had FCB’s third when he slipped past Didier Digard deep in Betis territory and, with only Adán to beat, fired wide into the side netting.
Nevertheless, Suárez did get FC Barcelona’s third in the 46th, slotting in from Adán’s right after collecting a well-placed pass from Busquets following a Betis turnover in their own end.
Suárez’s goal was his 14th of the year and Barça’s 179th in 2015, surpassing the previous team record in a calendar year that had been set by Real Madrid in 2014.
FC Barcelona had plenty more chances later in the second half. Messi had a goal-bound free kick tipped away by Adán at the last second, while Alves and Messi both took shots that rattled the woodwork.
Suárez then added Barça’s fourth on a give-and-go with Neymar six minutes from time.
from News at FCB http://ift.tt/1JK1Qd3
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