BARCELONA — Coach
Hansi Flick was sent off for protesting a penalty decision and Barcelona was
held at
to 2-2 in La Liga.
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé helped Real
Madrid close on the leaders.
Flick showed his frustration over a decision to send Betis
to the spot, but he also said after the match that his youthful team, which
included two 17-year-old starters, must improve.
“We are a young team and we need to improve a lot,” Flick
said. “We must be stronger, especially when we play away. We have quality, but
we have to show it in every game.”
Flick disagreed with the referee's decision to grant a
penalty following a video review when Betis forward Vitor Roque fell in the
area following a brush with Frenkie de Jong.
Giovani Lo Celso converted the 66th-minute penalty to level
the score after Robert Lewandowski put the visitors ahead in the 38th with his
league-leading 16th goal.
Substitute Ferran Torres scored from a pass by Lamine Yamal
to put Barcelona back in front in the 82nd, but Assane Diao struck in injury
time to secure the draw for Betis.
Barcelona has dropped points in four of the last five
rounds. Its latest slip in Seville let Madrid close to within two points with a
game still to play after it rolled to a 3-0 win at Girona.
Flick said he was surprised by the referee's decision to
expel him, but refused to criticize his sending off or the penalty decision
that came after the ref viewed video replays.
“I said nothing really to anyone, it was a reaction for myself,”
the former Bayern Munich boss said about his alleged protest. “I am really
disappointed about (the sending off) because that has never happened to me, but
maybe here (in Spain) it is like this.”
Bellingham leads Madrid winBellingham rifled in a loose ball
for the 36th-minute opener and extended his scoring streak to five rounds. He
then set up Arda Guler to double Madrid's lead in the 55th when he threaded a
long ball through Girona's defense.
About five minutes later the England midfielder asked to be
substituted for an apparent left-thigh injury, although coach Carlo Ancelotti
said he was “fine” and left the game for precaution.
Mbappé capped the victory with a goal from a tight angle,
helping him rebound from his failure to score a penalty in a loss at Athletic
Bilbao midweek.
Madrid lost left back Ferland Mendy to an apparent leg issue
as well. Madrid was already missing defenders Éder Militao and Dani Carvajal to
serious leg injuries, and coach Carlo Ancelotti said David Alaba won't be fit
to play until January.
Madrid visits Atalanta on Tuesday in the Champions League,
where it has lost three of five matches.
Barcelona's first slumpAfter outscoring opponents 29-5
during a run of seven straight wins that included big victories over Real
Madrid and Bayern Munich, Barcelona has hit its first dip in form since Flick's
arrival last summer. The skid over the past month includes its first home loss
to the modest Las Palmas in over 50 years and wasting a 2-0 lead in a draw at
Celta Vigo.
Barcelona bounced back with a 5-1 win at Mallorca this week,
but the draw at Betis may be the most worrying setback for Flick yet. His team
could have lost if it wasn't for the goalkeeping of Iñaki Peña, who among his
saves turned back a powerful point blank strike by Chimy Ávila.
Flick said his team played poorly and its only “good play”
in the first half was the pass by Jules Koundé that set up Lewandowski. His
remedy was for his team to speed up its passing game and reduce the number of
long balls that Flick said were not his team's strength.
Flick also defended substituting Lewandowski, Raphinha,
Pedri, and Dani Olmo — the team's best attacking players along with Yamal — for
the need to rest them ahead of Barcelona's Champions League game at Borussia
Dortmund on Wednesday.
Yamal put Barcelona back in charge after he threaded the
ball through the Betis backline for Torres to score. That was the 17-year-old's
league-leading ninth assist.
Diao, however, unleashed the celebrations in Benito
Villamarin Stadium when he used the inside of his right leg to redirect a cross
by Aitor Rubial just inside the far post of Peña's net.
“We are disappointed because we missed a chance to get a win
by conceding a late goal,” Koundé said. “We let them take the game to us.”
Manuel Pellegrini's team remained in 11th place after ending
a run of seven consecutive home losses to Barcelona.
Isco returns for BetisIsco Alarcon returned to the field for
the first time since the Betis midfielder broke a bone in his left fibula in
May. The former Real Madrid playmaker played the final minutes as a substitute.
Valencia hears jeersValencia's disgruntled supporters jeered
their team after a 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano left it in the relegation zone.
