Spanish La Liga
BarcelonaBarcelona2Real BetisReal Betis0

Barcelona 2-0 Real Betis

Barcelona
Barcelona finished second to Real Madrid in La Liga last season

Barcelona made a winning start to their La Liga campaign by defeating Real Betis on an emotional night at the Nou Camp.

The Spanish giants were playing for the first time since the terror attack in the city on Thursday and both teams paid their respects to the victims with a minute's silence before kick off.

Barcelona took the lead in the game when Alin Tosca deflected Gerard Deulofeu's cross into his own net.

Sergi Roberto then swept in a second.

It was a much-needed result for Barcelona after a difficult start to their season. Forward Neymar left the club to join Paris St-Germain in the summer before they were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.

Lionel Messi, the focal point of the Barcelona forward line in the absence of Neymar and the injured Luis Suarez, hit the woodwork three times as he pursued his 350th La Liga goal.

But it was former Everton forward Deulofeu who made the difference, providing the assist for Roberto's goal after his cross had led to the opener.

Nou Camp stands together

There was a defiant attitude among the 56,480 supporters inside the 99,000-capacity stadium after Thursday's events.

Chants of "we are not afraid" rang out around the Nou Camp after the minute's silence, while there was a banner in the stands that read "No-one can ever break us".

Both teams also wore black armbands, while Barcelona's shirts had the city's name on the back, rather than the players' surnames, in tribute to the victims.

Barcelona
Barcelona players wore special shirts to pay tribute to the victims of Thursday's terror attack in the city
Barcelona
There were additional security checks put in place at the Nou Camp

Line-ups

Barcelona

Formation 4-4-1-1

  • 1ter Stegen
  • 2Nélson Semedo
  • 14Mascherano
  • 23Umtiti
  • 18AlbaBooked at 52minsSubstituted forDigneat 87'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 16DeulofeuSubstituted forVidalat 72'minutes
  • 5Busquets
  • 4Rakitic
  • 17AlcácerSubstituted forD Suárezat 82'minutes
  • 20Roberto
  • 10Messi

Substitutes

  • 3Piqué
  • 6D Suárez
  • 7Turan
  • 13Cillessen
  • 19Digne
  • 21André Gomes
  • 22Vidal

Real Betis

Formation 4-1-4-1

  • 13Adán
  • 19Barragán
  • 23Mandi
  • 4Feddal
  • 21Tosca
  • 18Guardado
  • 11LeivaBooked at 63minsSubstituted forGuerrero Martínat 72'minutes
  • 29Narváez SolarteSubstituted forGarcía Fernándezat 68'minutes
  • 8CamarasaSubstituted forRuizat 78'minutes
  • 17Sánchez Rodríguez
  • 7León

Substitutes

  • 1Giménez
  • 3García Fernández
  • 5Amat
  • 6Ruiz
  • 9Sanabria
  • 14Durmisi
  • 27Guerrero Martín
Referee:
Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez
Attendance:
54,560

Match Stats

Home TeamBarcelonaAway TeamReal Betis
Possession
Home61%
Away39%
Shots
Home15
Away3
Shots on Target
Home2
Away0
Corners
Home8
Away0
Fouls
Home16
Away15

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Barcelona 2, Real Betis 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Barcelona 2, Real Betis 0.

  3. Booking

    Lucas Digne (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  4. Post update

    Foul by Lucas Digne (Barcelona).

  5. Post update

    Andrés Guardado (Real Betis) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  6. Post update

    Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Alin Tosca.

  7. Post update

    Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Javi García (Real Betis).

  9. Post update

    Lucas Digne (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  10. Post update

    Foul by Francis (Real Betis).

  11. Post update

    Lionel Messi (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Fabián Ruiz (Real Betis).

  13. Post update

    Sergi Roberto (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Post update

    Foul by Javi García (Real Betis).

  15. Post update

    Attempt missed. Fabián Ruiz (Real Betis) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.

  16. Substitution

    Substitution, Barcelona. Lucas Digne replaces Jordi Alba.

  17. Post update

    Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Antonio Barragán.

  18. Post update

    Attempt saved. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ivan Rakitic.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona).

  20. Post update

    Andrés Guardado (Real Betis) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Sunday 20th August 2017

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Real Madrid11003033
2Barcelona11002023
3Real Sociedad11003213
4Leganés11001013
5Valencia11001013
6Girona10102201
7Atl Madrid10102201
8Espanyol10101101
9Sevilla10101101
10Ath Bilbao10100001
11Getafe10100001
12Eibar00000000
13Levante00000000
14Malaga00000000
15Villarreal00000000
16Celta Vigo100123-10
17Alavés100101-10
18Las Palmas100101-10
19Real Betis100102-20
20Dep La Coruña100103-30
View full Spanish La Liga table

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