Barcelona miss out on extending standings lead after draw with Real Betis

Barcelona spurned the chance to extend their lead at the top of the LaLiga standings when they were held at home 1-1 by Real Betis on Saturday, with visiting defender Natan cancelling out Gavi’s early opener.

The draw moves Hansi Flick’s Barça on to 67 points, four ahead of rivals Real Madrid who slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home by Valencia earlier on Saturday, while Betis climbed to fifth on 48 points.

The hosts had been given further motivation by Real’s shocking loss and had a great start when Gavi opened the scoring from close range, brilliantly assisted by Ferran Torres seven minutes after kickoff.

However, Natan headed the equaliser from a corner in the 17th minute and though they dominated, Barca could not find a way past 38-year-old goalkeeper Adrián who made a string of saves later on to frustrate the hosts.

“One game less, one point more,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said in a news conference. “That’s a good thing. Of course the first half we made too many mistakes, but also we created chances. In the second half, it was much better. In the second half we try to get a better result.

“With our chances we create, we were not like normal, not so merciless. It happens. I think everyone now has both feet on the earth and it helps us. I am happy that we tried in the second half everything. I see it very positive.”