Real Betis vs. Barcelona: Score, Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Barcelona survived a tricky encounter with Real Betis during Saturday’s La Liga action, beating the Andalusians 2-0 to reclaim the top spot in the standings.

The Catalans barely got a foot right during a first half that was dominated by poor decisions from the official, but Ivan Rakitic opened the score early in the second half after a major defensive blunder.

Luis Suarez made it 2-0 in the final 10 minutes, ensuring his team didn’t slip up in the race for the title. Betis’ Heiko Westermann was sent off in the first half.

As the Catalans’ official Twitter account shared, manager Luis Enrique sent his strongest XI out for this vital clash, including Suarez, who came into the contest having scored eight goals in his last two outings:

Barça XI:13.Bravo3.Piqué4.Rakitic5.Sergio6.Alves8.Iniesta9.Suárez10.Messi11.Neymar Jr14.Mascherano18.Jordi Alba#FCBLive ????????

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 30, 2016

Given Barcelona’s strong form, most fans and pundits likely expected the Blaugrana to come out on fire and immediately soak up the spotlight. Instead, referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz was the most talked-about protagonist during the first half.

From the opening whistle, Lahoz was particularly harsh on both teams, calling fouls for seemingly innocuous challenges and warning Betis coach Juan Merino he would be sent to the stands as soon as he voiced his displeasure.

Yellow cards flowed freely as well, per AS English:

Petros booked for Betis. Only going to be space left in the margins of Lahoz’ notebook at this rate…

— AS English (@English_AS) April 30, 2016

His quick whistle had an effect on the product on the pitch, as neither team managed to build any kind of rhythm. As soon as one side strung together a decent sequence of passes, play would be stopped, allowing the defenders to get back in position.

Ruben Castro should have done better for the hosts, taking too long with the ball and allowing Javier Mascherano to make a tackle and avoid the first shot on goal, as chances were surprisingly rare. Betis left loanee Charly Musonda on the bench to start the match, and with his pace, Real didn’t present as much of a threat on the counter-attack as they would have liked.

Barcelona’s poor offensive start was an even bigger shock, however. Betis goalkeeper Antonio Adan barely had to make a stop in the first half, as the likes of Andres …

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