Guardado & Lainez fall to Messi and Barcelona in La Liga
Barcelona continued their dominant form and made short work of Real Betis beating them 4-1 with a Leo Messi Hat-Trick. Barca came into the game after a dominating 5-1 performance midweek against Lyon, while Betis was coming off a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo. Mexican international Andres Guardado played a full match for Betis, while his countrymen, wonder kid Diego Lainez came on in the 68th minute.
Real Betis came out attacking and nearly surprised Barcelona in the 11th minute when Cristian Tello was unable to make solid contact on a Jese cross.
La Pulga opened up his scoring with a fabulous free kick from just outside the area in the 18th minute. The ball went around the wall and into the top left corner of the goal past a diving Lopez who saw the shot too late.
Messi again struck just before halftime when Luis Suarez flicked a side heel pass to him between three Betis defenders, that he only tapped past Lopez for a 2-0 lead.
Los Azulgranas third goal came in the 63rd minute, when Suarez took a ball about from about three-quarters of the field, taking on multiple defenders until he found himself alone in front of a helpless Lopez, who again could do nothing as Suarez’ right-footed strike found the back of the net.
Betis was able to break thru late in the game as a Diego Lainez assist found Loren Moron near the top of the box for a one-timed right-footed curler that found the top right corner of the goal past a diving Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Betis’ joy was short-lived, as they fell victim again to a Messi masterpiece in the 85th minute. La Pulga took an Ivan Rakitic pass inside the box and chipped Lopez from there. The ball sailed over the diving keeper, hit the crossbar and found its way to the back of the net for the hat-trick. The performance earned Messi a standing ovation from the Benito Villamarin crowd.
This win puts the Catalan squad up 10 points in La Liga as they prepare to for a visit from Espanyol Saturday, March 30. Betis will have to shake the loss of as they get set to visit Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, March 31.
