Barcelona 3 - 0 Real Betis: Review and Highlights (Joyful Edition)
By: Isaiah | November 5th, 2007
Updated version!I’m sure a lot of Barca fans out there are breathing immense sighs of relief right now, even if the Betis game ended well over 24 hours ago. A beautiful team goal for Thierry Henry and two freekick goals for Ronaldinho, coupled with Sevilla smashing Real Madrid 2-0, definitely seemed to take some pressure off of the team. I loved Ronnie’s second goal celebration, using his hands to mimick the yapping of the media and the fans, telling them to shut up with that big, goofy smile.
It’s the joy that I love to see, the unbridled passion, and the laughing and dancing. Sure, it was an easy game against a fairly bad opponent, but in comparison to the flat performance against Valladolid, it was pure ecstasy for me. From beginning to end, the team dominated, creating chance after chance. The finishing was a little off, but the commitment was there. Ronaldinho was inspired in his passing and his work rate, Henry was playing vertically, Messi was back to making wonderful runs, including one that should have another “Messidona” goal. (Click here to see it), Xavi and Iniesta were making surging runs and generally good passes, Toure was like a Gringott’s vault (the scary, impossible-to-break-into kind from Book 1, not the “oh yippee let’s go to the most protected Gringott’s vault” kind from the 7th book–whoa that was nerdy), and the defense was just plain solid.
The score could have been about 10-0, really, with Betis never getting into the offensive half with any real threats, but the finishing was the only negative aspect of the game. Technically the shots were 7-2, but Barcelona had 19 shots, 7 on target and 66% of possession. Betis were more of a chop-em-if-you-can team yesterday and there were several times when yellow cards should have been issued but weren’t. Messi was blasted into from behind by Babic who received a yellow, but could have easily been sent off. The reffing was decent enough except for the laxity in issuing those amarillas.
I don’t have the energy for a true breakdown, so here are the highlights, as brought to you by YouTube, in parts:
Henry’s goal:
Both of Ronaldinho’s goals:
Category: 
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments
-
I was actually caught mid-sentence describing to a bar-mate what shit Ronnie’s been offering in terms of performance… when he scored the first of his pure quality free kicks. sigh.
Posted from
United States
-
Great to see Titi score and link up with Iniesta. Lovely to see Ronnie click with his free kicks too. Just a little worried about Barca’s connection or finishing in the final third and in the run of play. Betis should be a walk over. The team is still transitioning, but needs to get it done, especially away.
Posted from
United States -
And since we’re playing Rangers next, I have to mention this: Messi never actually made that comment about ‘antifootball’ that he’s been roundly mocked for. Funny how that works.
Posted from
Australia -
we need to win 5-0 against rangers
Posted from
United Arab Emirates -
Elisa, I did think Betis was a walkover. 3-0 is a pretty devastating scoreline and even though it could have been much higher, 3-0 is a fantastic win. There were substantial improvements in Barca’s frontline and I think we’ll see a continuance of this connection during the Rangers game tomorrow. Fatigue could be a slight factor, but the team will try very hard, I imagine, to secure a place in the next round by beating the Scots.
It would be truly fantastic to jump to 10 points after 4 games, especially if the clean sheet remains intact.
More in my preview later.
Posted from
United States -
Linda, let me begin by saying I respect Messi as a ball player, and think he should be up for the ballon d’or next year. However, just because he now says that he didn’t say what everyone heard him say following the Rangers game, doesn’t mean he never said it. It just means he realizes now that it was a damn fool thing to say.
Posted from
United States -
I was at this game and think that Barca did well against a very Physical(for Spain)team. I was also at this fixture last season and this was probably the game that cost Barce the La Liga title. I do think Ronnie and Henry need to gel more as sometimes play still breaks down but it will come. I was more than a little disapointed with skys review in weekly La Liga review of Ronnies input.
Posted from
United Kingdom -
Paul, glad you made the game, I’m more than a bit jealous. Betis were physical, sure, but they were out-of-control physical, which is not how Rangers plays. They’re just hard-nosed rather than constantly swiping at your legs like Betis was.
Agreed about Henry and Ronnie needing to gel more, but like you say, it will come, and we’ve seen a rather dramatic improvement in their communication recently.
Posted from
United States
Comments are closed
Home 
