Barcelona and Lamine Yamal beat Betis who complained about arbitration

Barcelonained its perfect step in the Spanish league on Saturday after imposing 2-5 on Betis in the La Cartuja stadium, in a match marked by Lamine Yamal’s talent, the expulsion of Facundo Bernal and the strong criticism of the local coach, Manuel Pellegrini, against the arbitration of Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.

The blaugrana team added their ninth victory in nine days, although the final result did not fully reflect the resistance offered by the white team during much of the match. The expulsion of Uruguayan midfielder Bernal, in the 55th minute, altered the development of a match that until then remained open and with opportunities for both teams.

Facundo Bernal was shown a red card for headbutting Lamine Yamal who was also shown a yellow card.

Lamine Yamal’s first major appearance came when Barcelona was still trying to settle on the pitch. The young attacker found space for the left interior sector, surpassed Fran García with several movements and connected a left-wing with effect that ended in the squad of the goalkeeper defended by Valles.

THAT IS ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS FROM LAMINE YAMAL ?

The visiting advantage did not prevent the Betis from reacting. After Adeyemi was close to widening the difference, the locals took advantage of a corner draw to find the draw. Fornals put a precise center in a second game and Valentín Gómez ended up in the head to establish the 1-1.

Both teams had a chance to get ahead before the break. Adeyemi met with the intervention of Valles, while Bellerín failed to overtake Joan García in a clear occasion. Finally, Rodri advanced to Barcelona by heading a corner executed by Fermín.

The Betis had another draw just before the break. Celso connected a volleyball from the edge of the area and placed the ball in the angle, but the referee canceled the match after reviewing the game with the VAR by a previous hand of Cucho Hernández. The decision caused dissatisfaction in the local community.

Lo Celso's incredible goal vs. Barcelona was ruled out by VAR for a handball in the buildup.

The second half began with occasions in both areas. Valles avoided a goal from Fermín, Cucho Hernández had an opportunity against Joan García and Gabriel Jesus saw how they annulled him a bit. Shortly afterwards, the Brazilian forward of Barcelona managed to score: he took advantage of a pass from Lamine Yamal to push the ball to the net and place the 1-3.

Lamine Yamal with the assist to Gabriel Jesus ??

Betis did not surrender. The Celso filtered a pass for Abde, who overcame the blue-grid goalkeeper and returned hope to the locals. However, the celebration of the goal resulted in an encounter between several footballers that ended with Lamine Yamal on the ground, after receiving a slight headshot from Bernal.

The referee warned the Spanish international for a prior provocation and expelled the Uruguayan midfielder with a direct red for aggression. With the Betis in numerical inferiority and more than half an hour to play, the stage complicated for those directed by Pellegrini.

Barcelona took advantage of their superiority to control possession and sentence the match in the final minutes. Two Valles errors, one when leaving his goal and another when delivering a pass by the center that was intercepted, facilitated the goals of Eric García and Dani Olmo, who left the definitive scoring in 2-5.

After the match, Pellegrini expressed his frustration with the arbitral decisions and assured that the result did not represent what happened during the match.

“We were left in inferiority, he annulled a goal in an absurd way because the offence would be 30 meters from the game and has no incidence on the goal. In the third, they put the shoe to a player our height of the head. The expulsion is a provocation of Lamine Yamal. He pulled yellow on one and threw out the other,” said the Chilean coach.

The technician also questioned the cancellation of the goal of Lo Celso. According to him, Cucho Hernández tried to control the ball with his chest, but he received a contact from a Barcelona defender that caused the ball to hit him in the hand. For Pellegrini, that kind of decision damaged the show before the 70,000 spectators present.

The coach acknowledged that the match had numerous interruptions and failures, a situation that, in his judgment, could influence the arbitral performance. However, he highlighted the performance of Ceballos and Lo Celso, who played their first match as season owners and were chosen to favor the possession of the Betis.

Pellegrini assessed that his team had competed from equal to equal against Barcelona while both sets had eleven players. In his opinion, Bernal’s expulsion was the factor that unbalanced the game and allowed the Leader of the League to take advantage of the spaces to expand the difference.