Barcelona extends its lead and puts pressure on Real Madrid in the fight for the top spot.
With three matches remaining to close out the first half of the season, Barça seeks to maintain its lead at the top, while Real Madrid tries to regain its form to stay in the fight for the lead.
FC Barcelona closed out Matchday 16 with a 5-3 victory over Real Betis, extending their lead at the top of La Liga to four points. Hansi Flick’s side secured the win thanks to a hat-trick from Ferran Torres, a penalty converted by Lamine Yamal, and Ronny Bardghji’s first goal for the club.
Betis rallied in the final stages, capitalizing on Barça’s drop in intensity to reduce the deficit. The Blaugrana continue to show defensive vulnerabilities with their high defensive line, although Flick has found some balance by using academy graduate Gerard Martín at center-back due to Araujo’s lack of adaptation and Christensen’s injuries.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid fell to a Celta Vigo side that relied on counter-attacks and executed their plan flawlessly. Xabi Alonso’s team struggled to find space and were hampered by Claudio Giráldez’s tactical discipline.
Borja Iglesias was key to Celta Vigo’s attack, and Williot Swedberg, coming off the bench, scored two goals to seal the victory. Real Madrid finished with nine men after Fran García and Álvaro Carreras were sent off.
Endrick was also shown a red card from the bench for dissent. With three matches remaining to close out the first half of the season, Barcelona will look to maintain their lead at the top of the table, while Real Madrid will try to rediscover their form to stay in contention for the title.
Written by Maxdiel Fernández.
