FOOTBALL – 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 last night, with visiting defender Natan cancelling out Gavi’s early opener.
The draw moves Hansi Flick’s Barca on to 67 points, four ahead of rivals Real Madrid who slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home by Valencia earlier yesterday, 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 Adrian.
Earlier, Vinicius Jr missed his second penalty in less than a month as Real Madrid were shocked at home by Valencia 2-1.
Real Madrid dominated possession throughout the game but wasted too many chances, with Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili putting in a brilliant performance between the posts, including blocking Vinicius’ first-half penalty.
Defender Mouctar Diakhaby opened the scoring for Valencia with a header from an Andre Almeida corner in the 15th minute.
Vinicius stroked in the equaliser from a corner in the 50th minute and pushed for the winner in the second half. However, Valencia held on and took advantage of a quick counter five minutes deep into added time as Hugo Duro’s header secured the win.
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