Barcelona may have shared the spoils in a tense 1-1 draw with Real Betis on Saturday, but they still walked away with a silver lining—widening their lead over rivals Real Madrid to four points at the top of La Liga.
The night began brightly for Barça at the Estadi Olímpic as Gavi opened the scoring early, sliding the ball past Betis keeper Adrián in the 7th minute. But what looked like a potential goal-fest turned into a test of grit as Real Betis fought back hard. Just nine minutes later, Natan Souza stunned the home crowd by nodding in a corner from Giovani Lo Celso, levelling the scoreline.
Despite a second half dominated by relentless Barcelona attacks, Betis stood tall—defending in numbers and relying on some clutch saves from Adrián to frustrate the hosts.
“We created plenty of chances,” Gavi told Movistar post-match. “But it leaves a bitter taste when you can’t make them count.”
Still, the draw served Barcelona well. Earlier in the day, Real Madrid had suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Valencia—conceding a heartbreaker in the final seconds of stoppage time.
It was a dramatic collapse at the Bernabéu. Real missed an early penalty, as Vinicius Jr.’s tame effort was saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili—his second spot-kick miss in a row. Almost immediately, Valencia responded, with Mouctar Diakhaby powering home a header to silence the home fans.
Though Vinicius equalized early in the second half—his 104th goal for Real, equalling Brazilian legend Ronaldo—it wasn’t enough. The visitors held firm, and in the dying seconds, Hugo Duro delivered the sucker punch, slotting home a Rafa Mir cross to seal all three points.
“It’s a tough one to take,” Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted. “We created so many chances but lacked that killer instinct. This wasn’t a deserved defeat, but it’s one we have to learn from.”
With both teams set to return to Champions League action this week—Real facing Arsenal and Barcelona meeting Dortmund—the tension is only building. And with the Copa del Rey final also looming between the two giants on April 26, the season’s climax is shaping up to be a dramatic finish on all fronts.
