Barcelona defeats Betis (5-1) and soars to top of Spanish League

Madrid, Oct 17 (KUNA) -- Barcelona soared to the top of the Spanish football league after a convincing 5-2 victory over Real Betis at La Cartuja Stadium on Saturday, in the ninth round of the competition. The Catalan side ended the first half leading 2-1, after Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the 10th minute, only for Valentin Gomez to equalize for Betis in the 27th. Rodri restored Barcelona’s lead by scoring the second goal in the 41st minute. In the second half, Gabriel Jesus added a third for Barcelona in the 51st minute, before Abdusamad Ezzejlouli reduced the deficit for Betis with a second goal just two minutes later. In the 62nd minute, Eric Garcia scored a fourth for the visitors, and midfielder Dani Olmo capped the scoring spree with a fifth and final goal in the 81st minute, securing Barcelona’s ninth consecutive win in the competition. With this victory, Barcelona moved up to 27 points, five points clear of closest rivals Atletico Madrid and nine points ahead of fourth-placed Real Madrid, while Betis remained on 19 points in third place. In other matches from the same round, Atletico Madrid defeated Espanyol 1-0 earlier on Saturday, while Real Madrid will host Sevilla tomorrow, Sunday. (End) H.N.D./M.M.J.