FC Barcelona Vs Real Betis: As It Happened

Messi and Suarez: Firing it Up

The South American duo put on an amazing display. Suarez went on to score 3, with Messi providing the assists. The Argentian also grabbed a couple of goals himself. The combination which dominated Spain last year seems to be off to a flying start. The Uruguayan got a goal from a free kick, which may encourage him to start taking more set-pieces. The duo dominated the game from the kick-off, with Messi providing a pass through the flank to Jordi Alba, who provided a great assist to a waiting Arda Turan outside the box. Turan needed a goal to start his campaign, as his previous season wasn’t as great as he would’ve been expecting it to be. As the game progressed, the game started to drift apart from the away side. The duo made sure that the ball stayed in the opponent’s half as much as possible.

Samuel Umtiti: Something Special In The Making

With Javier Mascherano injured and Jeremy Mathieu sidelined for the match, it was upto the 22-year-old to perform. With the likes of Gerard Pique alongside him, Umtiti proved to be a solid figure in defense. The defender was a major signing for the Catalans. Umtiti made sure that the ball was off the goal lines, as he put up a great performance in his debut match. Moreover, he seem to have a great response from the fans. With his unique tackling ability and sharp instinct for the goal, Umtiti won the hearts of everyone in Camp Nou. Luis Enrique would have been pretty pleased with his signing’s performance on his debut. We surely look forward to seeing more of him as the season progresess.

Possession : Name of the Game

FCB are well known for their possesion game. In the match preview, Real Betis’s manager Gus Poyet stated that his plan was to keep Barcelona off the ball. His plan failed miserably. The hosts had an incredible 73% possession in the game, with around 650 passess, almost 4 times that of the opposition. To add to that tally, Barca had a total of 30 shots on goal, with 12 of them on target. Betis only had 2 shots on target. However, both of these shots ended in the back of Claudio Bravo’s net.

Real Betis’s Ruben Castro

The star player of the team surely did find his rhythm in the first match of the season. Ruben netted a sublime free kick goal. The ball went outside of the wall, with Bravo only getting fingertips to it. Even when his side was 6-1 down, Castro didn’t give up. From a throw-in near the goal, he was the quickest to act, and before anyone knew, he netted another goal. His runs down the box showed his commitment to the game and his team. His manager for sure won’t be challenging his loyality to the club in the near future. Castro’s performance was perhaps the only positive Betis fans might see from the game.

Midfield Magicians and Sergio Roberto

With Xavi gone, many pundits did have a concern as to whether Barcelona still had the old pass and press move they were known for. In toinght’s match, the midfield was thoroughly dominated by Ivan Rakitic and Arda Turan. With a goal in the opening minutes of the match, Turan must have got some relief from the ghost of his previous season. As the game opened up, Rakitic took it to the opposition with his sublime footwork and one to one pass combination with his team mates. Sergio Roberto proved to be a great replacement for Dani Alves as he fired up the right back position. With a great display last season, he had his manager’s approval for the job, and he nailed the opportunity presented before him.