Barcelona came into their game against Real Betis knowing that they needed to win to stay in first place in La Liga over Atletico Madrid via head-to-head point differential, but they came out of the gates like a team with little to play for.
Seven yellow cards were given out between Barcelona and Betis in the first half, more than the number of shots taken by both teams in that time, six.
It was uninspiring football, and a shock considering Barcelona knew that they had to win in order to avoid falling to third behind Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who had both won earlier in the day. Even after Betis had a man sent off in the 35th minute, Barcelona could not score. The team went into the dressing room at half-time a shadow of the team that had prevailed 6-0 and 8-0 in previous weeks.
Apparently no one was more frustrated with Barcelona’s performance than the club’s head coach himself, Luis Enrique. During half-time he was irate with his team:
“Do you want to win the league or not? It looks like you don’t.” yelled Enrique. “There’s no speed, no intensity, nothing. It’s as if you had nothing to play for. Pull your socks up or you’re going to throw the title away. You’ll only have yourselves to blame.”
As the second half started it seemed like Enrique’s tirade had no effect. Luis Suarez was put through on goal by Neymar in the 47th minute and looked like he must score, but he put the ball wide and was left with his head in his hands.
As he so often has been in the past, amongst a squad of world-class players who couldn’t seem to connect the dots, Messi was the one that made the difference.
Lionel Messi has 55 assists since 2012/13; at least 6 more than any other player across Europe's top 5 leagues. pic.twitter.com/OHwjdp4hh2
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 30, 2016
Messi did it by being the playmaker, and his fingerprints were all over both goals.
The first was ugly. It started with a pass from Messi. Betis defender German Pezzella tried to clear it but missed, Betis goal keeper Antonio Adan attempted to punch it away but missed. The ball bounced to Ivan Rakitic who tapped it into an open net. It was embarrassing for Betis, who had defended well up until that point.
The second was genius. Messi was deep in the midfield when he spotted Luis Suarez making a run into the middle of Beti’s 18. Messi sent forward a through ball that took four defenders out of the game, and Suarez finished it as you would expect him to.
With the second goal the result was secured and Barcelona were spared the shame of giving up first place because of 13th place Real Betis.
Messi was enjoying himself by the end of the game. Deep into extra time, he executed a ludicrous scissor kick through ball to Suarez; the move should have ended in a goal but Gerard Pique couldn’t finish it off.
When your team is in danger of blowing it, it’s good to be able to fall back on the best player in the world.
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