Barcelona and Real Betis produced yet another remarkable spectacle as the two sides battled to a wild 2-2 draw at the _Benito Villamarín_ on Saturday afternoon in one of the best games of the _La Liga_ season so far. Barça dominated the first half, Betis dominated the second half, and each team scored a dramatic late goal to share the points and continue their history of playing nothing but incredibly entertaining games.
**FIRST HALF**
The first two minutes of the game were absolutely terrifying for Barça as Betis launched an early blitz looking to catch the visitors off guard, and it almost worked twice as the hosts created two monster chances to take the lead: the first was a Diego Llorente header from a corner that was cleared off the line by Raphinha, and the second was a one-on-one for Ez Abde that was brilliantly stopped by Iñaki Peña.
Barça looked on the ropes and ready to go behind, but the Catalans showed remarkable poise on the road and assumed complete control of the action: with great patience and precision with their passing at the back and in midfield, the _Blaugrana_ forced Betis to retreat into a low block for more than 10 minutes which was enough to slow down the home team’s momentum and make Barça the superior side in the game.
Betis did a good job blocking passing lanes through the middle and forced Barça to play plenty of sideways and backward balls, but Hansi Flick’s side kept their composure and didn’t get desperate. When the likes of Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal finally got on the ball they were aggressive and always looking to create, and Barça didn’t have a major chance but continued to fire warning shots.
And with five minutes to go in the half came the breakthrough: a long, beautiful passing sequence down the right wing ended with a brilliant pass by Pedri, a great assist by Jules Kounde and an easy tap-in for Robert Lewandowski. It was a glorious team goal, and one that Barça deserved for the high quality of their football.
The halftime whistle came to end a period dominated by Barça after a couple of major early scares, but the Catalans still needed to look to add to their one-goal lead to make sure of the three points against a Betis side that would not go down without a fight.
**SECOND HALF**
Betis once again launched an early blitz to begin the period, pressing much higher and creating multiple huge chances: Sergi Altimira headed a free-kick wide from point-blank range, Ez Abde also missed a fairly easy header, and Peña made a world-class reaction save to deny Chimy Ávila as Betis wasted three monster opportunities to equalize in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Barça had real issues keeping hold of the ball in midfield and struggled mightily against the Betis press, and Flick made two changes at the hour mark looking to help his team regain their composure: Frenkie de Jong replaced Dani Olmo, and Ferran Torres came on for Raphinha.
The initial impact of the substitutions was tragic as De Jong fouled Vitor Roque inside the box on a Betis counter-attack, and the referee pointed to the spot after a VAR review. Flick was sent off for protesting the decision, Giovani Lo Celso scored the penalty, and Betis got the equalizer they had more than deserved based on their second half showing.
Barça made two more changes with 15 minutes to go with Gavi and Pau Víctor replacing Pedri and Lewandowski, and Isco came on for Betis as the two teams prepared for a chaotic finish.
The _Blaugrana_ looked like they had very little chance of finding a winner, but their superstar showed up when they needed him the most: Lamine Yamal completely took over at the end, constantly getting on the ball and looking to create for his teammates.
And with 10 minutes to go the teenager made the big play with a sensational through ball to find Ferran, who passed the ball into the net to put Barça back in front. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but the semi-automated VAR system made it count and the visitors celebrated a huge turning point in the match.
Betis had very little time to chase a second equalizer, and Héctor Fort came on for Alejandro Balde to add fresher legs at the back as the Barça defense looked to clinch the victory. There were eight minutes added at the death, and Betis threw everyone forward looking for a late miracle.
And they found it in the 94th minute when a perfect cross from Aitor Ruibal found Assane Diao in the box, and the substitute redirected into the bottom corner to rescue a point for the home team. The final whistle came shortly after, and the two sides shared the spoils after an amazing football match.
Betis and Barça don’t know how to play boring games, and they did it again in a match that had two dramatic late goals and everything else you could possibly ask for. Barça did drop two points on the road in painful fashion, but it’s hard to be negative after such a fun and chaotic game. Sometimes you just have to enjoy great football, and that’s what we got in this one.
**Real Betis**: Vieites; Sabaly, Bartra, Llorente, Perraud (Ruibal 72’); Flores (Isco 76’), Altimira; Ávila, Lo Celso, Ez Abde (Rodríguez 86’); Roque (Diao 77’)
Goals: _Lo Celso (pen 68’), Diao (90+4’)_
**Barcelona**: Peña; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Balde (Fort 88’); Casadó, Pedri (Gavi 74’); Yamal, Olmo (De Jong 60’), Raphinha (Ferran 60’); Lewandowski (Víctor 74’)
Goals: _Lewandowski (39’), Ferran (83’)_