Barca edge Betis in 5 goal thriller

There were always going to be goals in the game as there were 24 goals in the previous 4 matches, and it took 6 minutes for the first goal of this match.

Lenglet looked to handle the ball in the box after a Betis shot, and after checking VAR, the referee awarded the hosts a penalty and gave the Frenchman a card for his troubles. Canales then stepped up and made no mistake sending Ter Stegen the wrong way.

However, Barca were level 3 minutes later when Messi played it over to De Jong, the Dutchman chested it down and volleyed past Robles to pull the Catalan outfit level. Messi then had a good chance that Robles saved well from close range.

Betis were then back in front thanks to a Barca mistake. The ball was then played through to Fekir who lashed it into the bottom corner to send the home fans wild. Just when it looked like Betis would be going in at the break 2-1 up, Barca again levelled.

Messi swung in the free-kick, Sergio Busquets took a touch and volleyed it into the net.

The 2nd half didn't get off to a bang like the 1st one did, but it certainly lived up to expectations. In the 47th minute, Messi tried his luck again but his shot was saved by Robles. The Argentine then had another effort saved well as he looked for his 1st league goal since 19th January.

Barcelona got the crucial 5th goal of the match through an unlikely source. Messi swung in the cross and Lenglet rose above everyone to head into the net, although he was helped by Robles slipping.

A few minutes later Betis were down to 10 after Fekir was booked for a bad foul, but was then shown a 2nd yellow for presumably saying something to the referee. Lenglet was then sent off 3 minutes later after picking up his 2nd booking too, but Barca held on for a crucial victory to move back to 3 points behind Real Madrid.