At La Cartuja Stadium, Lamine Yamal produced a superb finish, while goals from Rodri, Gabriel Jesus, Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo completed Barcelona’s tally. Betis replied through Valentín Gómez and Ez Abde, but their hopes of mounting a comeback faded after Facundo Bernal was sent off early in the second half for headbutting Yamal.
The victory took Barcelona’s winning sequence to 11 matches in all competitions. They have now equalled the record set by Real Madrid in the 1968-69 season for the most consecutive victories at the beginning of a campaign. The achievement underlines the consistency of Flick’s side, who have combined attacking quality with an impressive ability to secure results.
Barcelona’s latest success also strengthened their position in the league standings. Atlético Madrid, who sit second, had earlier beaten Espanyol 1-0 with a late goal and remain five points behind the leaders. Betis are third, eight points adrift of Barcelona, while fourth-placed Real Madrid were due to host Sevilla on Sunday.
Yamal opens the scoring in style
Barcelona made an energetic start and took the lead in the 10th minute through Yamal. The 19-year-old winger received the ball near the edge of the penalty area, turned sharply to evade Bernal and curled a superb shot into the top corner.
It was a moment of individual brilliance that gave Barcelona an early advantage. Yamal’s ability to create space in tight areas and finish from difficult positions has made him a key attacking threat, and his goal set the tone for an entertaining contest.
Despite their attacking strength, however, Barcelona again showed signs of vulnerability in defence. Betis drew level before the 29th minute after the visitors failed to clear a corner properly. Pablo Fornals collected the loose ball and delivered a cross into the penalty area, where Valentín Gómez headed home from close range in front of Barcelona defender Javi Espart.
The equaliser exposed a weakness in Barcelona’s handling of set-pieces, even as their forwards continued to threaten at the other end.
Barcelona restored their lead through Rodri, who headed in from a corner. The goal was his first for the club and gave the visitors renewed momentum.
Betis nearly responded through Giovani Lo Celso, whose long-range effort appeared to bring the hosts back on level terms. However, a VAR review detected a handball by Cucho Hernández during the build-up, and the goal was disallowed. The decision denied Betis an important equaliser and allowed Barcelona to retain their advantage.
Jesus extends the lead after the break
Barcelona increased their lead six minutes into the second half when Gabriel Jesus converted a cut-back from Yamal. Jesus had seen an earlier effort ruled out for offside, but this time his finish counted, putting Barcelona 3-1 ahead.
Betis responded quickly. Ez Abde scored to reduce the deficit and briefly revived hopes of a comeback. The goal brought renewed urgency to the contest, but the home side’s task became significantly harder moments later.
Bernal was shown a straight red card after headbutting Yamal. The incident sparked a confrontation involving players from both sides, and Yamal was also booked during the ensuing disturbance. Betis were left with 10 players for the remainder of the match.
Playing with a numerical advantage, Barcelona found more opportunities to exploit the spaces in the home defence. Pau Cubarsí supplied the ball with a header, allowing Eric Garcia to score from close range and restore a two-goal cushion at 4-2.
Flick then substituted Yamal, with next week’s El Clásico against Real Madrid in mind. The decision helped protect the young winger from the risk of another booking that could have jeopardised his availability for the highly anticipated fixture. Brazilian forward Raphinha came on in his place after missing the previous two matches through injury.
Olmo completes another five-goal performance
Barcelona’s fifth goal arrived late in the match when substitute Dani Olmo produced an excellent finish from the edge of the penalty area. It completed a convincing win and marked the sixth time this season that Flick’s team had scored at least five goals in a match.
The result offered further evidence of Barcelona’s attacking depth. Yamal provided creativity and a goal, Jesus made his mark in front of goal, and the contributions of Rodri, Garcia and Olmo demonstrated that the scoring threat extended well beyond the starting forwards.
Betis, meanwhile, had rested several players ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Feyenoord. Key midfielder Isco was among those left out as manager Manuel Pellegrini managed his squad ahead of the European fixture. Even with those absences, Betis caused Barcelona problems during the first half and showed enough attacking intent to make the contest competitive.
Their chances diminished after Bernal’s dismissal, which left them facing one of the league’s strongest attacking sides with a numerical disadvantage.
For Barcelona, the win brought both a significant statistical achievement and three valuable league points. Matching Real Madrid’s 1968-69 record will add to the confidence surrounding Flick’s team, but the defensive lapses against Betis remain an area for improvement. With El Clásico approaching, Barcelona will be keen to preserve their attacking momentum while tightening their defence, particularly when dealing with corners and other set-pieces.
