Barcelona vs. Real Betis: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Barcelona finished 2015 with a victory, maintaining their place atop La Liga with a 4-0 home win over Real Betis on Wednesday.
The hosts started slowly but took control of the match following a contentious penalty decision in the 27th minute. Neymar missed the spot-kick, but Barca still went ahead after Heiko Westermann put the ball into his own net.
Lionel Messi, making his 500th appearance for Barca, doubled the lead in the 33rd minute, and Luis Suarez added a second-half double.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Lionel Messi
1 of 5
Lionel Messi made his 500th appearance for Barcelona on Wednesday night, an amazing accomplishment for a player who's still just 28 years old.
As The Sport Bible noted on Twitter, the Argentina international came into the match with 424 goals, 159 assists and 26 trophies to his name. Almost inevitably, Messi added another goal to that tally, and in doing so, he helped Barca maintain their spot atop the table.
Is more silverware in store? All signs point to yes. Following an amazing 2015 that saw Barca win five trophies, the Blaugrana are well placed for further glory in 2016.
As for Messi, individual records have become something like pocket change—nice to have but not something he counts on. Yet, with age on his side, he seems destined to set Barca's all-time appearances record. As Bleacher Report UK tweeted, he's only 267 appearances behind Xavi, the current record holder.
If he stays with Barcelona, Messi has time to surpass that mark with time to spare.
Loser: The Penalty Decision
2 of 5
Until the 27th minute, Barcelona were not themselves. The Blaugrana appeared to be battling a post-holiday daze, and Real Betis were relatively comfortable against any attacks the hosts threw at them.
That all changed in an instant as referee Inaki Vicandi Garrido awarded Barca a contentious penalty. The incident in question involved Lionel Messi and Betis goalkeeper Antonio Adan. As Messi attempted to attack a ball lofted into Betis' six-yard box, Adan came off his line, reached the ball first and cleared with a punch.
His momentum took him into Messi, who fell to the pitch in obvious pain. But while the challenge looked brutal in real time, Adan did nothing wrong. It seemed like Garrido was incorrect to award a penalty.
At the Daily Mail, Ed Malyon wrote:
"In a game where breaking the deadlock was proving problematic and Betis had started well, the visitors were fuming that Antonio Adan was punished for flying out of his goal and punching the ball away. What can't be denied is that Adan hit Lionel Messi very hard in the act, but he only had eyes for the ball and won it very cleanly when Messi continued to challenge him for it.
"
Neymar missed the spot-kick, putting his shot on the crossbar after slipping, but Heiko Westermann put the ball into his own net to break the deadlock.
From there, Barcelona were in control. A dominant second half meant the hosts were worthy of their victory, but one incorrect call certainly affected the trajectory of the match.
Winners: Neymar and Luis Suarez
3 of 5
Neymar recovered from his penalty miss to record two good assists, setting up Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Suarez, for his part, added two second-half goals.
Neymar's latter assist, for Suarez's second strike, was a moment of pure genius. At the end of a flowing move, the Brazilian spun and passed to Suarez with an outrageous backheel that sliced open the Betis defense. Suarez only had to slot in from there.
The two assists gave Neymar seven for the season in La Liga. He's level with Real Madrid's Gareth Bale for the most in the top flight. According to Opta Jose, he's assisted 12 goals in his last 12 appearances in all competitions.
The two goals were the 14th and 15th of the Liga season for Suarez. He's now the leader in the race for the Pichichi Trophy, one goal ahead of Neymar and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
With both players posting such impressive attacking stats, Barcelona are a team to fear in 2016.
After winning the treble in 2014-15, manager Luis Enrique's men look fully capable of doing so again.
“We have a squad who still want to keep winning,” Messi said, per Football Espana. “Repeating 2015 will be difficult, but we’ll try."
Loser: Barcelona's Penalty-Taking
4 of 5
If there was one negative for Barcelona on Wednesday, it had to do with finishing. The Blaugrana hit the woodwork four times and missed a penalty.
According to WhoScored, it was Barca's fourth penalty miss of the season. No other Liga team has missed more than two. Per Opta Jose, Neymar has missed three of those spot-kicks.
Those stats are just footnotes on a day like this, but in a tight game, that kind of wastefulness could prove costly.
Winner: Sergio Busquets
5 of 5
Is any player in the world underappreciated more than Sergio Busquets? The Barcelona midfielder isn't the flashiest performer, but his contributions are essential.
Besides his normal excellence in midfield, Busquets was directly responsible for Barca's third goal. Just moments into the second half, the 27-year-old won possession near Real Betis' box and promptly freed Luis Suarez with a slide-rule pass. Suarez applied the finishing touch with lethal efficiency.
In the space of a few seconds, two quick moves turned a defensive situation into a deadly attack. The swiftness of the sequence spoke to Busquets' outstanding ability to read the game. Before his opponents knew what was happening, the Barca man knew exactly what he wanted to do.
And then he did it. What a player.
