Barcelona kept their perfect La Liga record with a 5-2 win at Real Betis on Saturday, October 17, in front of 66,924 fans at the Estadio La Cartuja, a ninth victory from nine games that takes them to 27 points, ESPN reported. Lamine Yamal scored in the tenth minute, Rodri headed in the 41st, Gabriel Jesus scored in the 51st, Eric García in the 62nd and Dani Olmo in the 81st, while Valentín Gómez and Abde Ezzalzouli scored for Betis. On Sunday Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, in front of 73,907, with Arda Güler, two from Kylian Mbappé, one a penalty, and Yan Diomande scoring, and Manu Bueno replying for the visitors.
The case that Barcelona are the clear favourites rests on the standings. Nine wins from nine have produced 27 points, five more than second-placed Atlético Madrid and six more than Real Madrid, and a goal difference of +30 built on 39 goals scored and nine conceded, ESPN’s table shows. Their 39 goals are 16 more than Madrid’s 23 and 20 more than Atlético’s 19. At Betis, who are fourth and have won six of their nine games, Barcelona scored five goals, through five different scorers, and led 3-1 by the 51st minute. Barcelona’s average of more than four goals a game, 39 in nine, is well above the 2.6 per game of Madrid and 2.1 of Atlético, and Betis, fourth in the table with 16 goals scored and 14 conceded, were a well-placed side to face.
The case against writing off the chasing clubs is also in the numbers. Betis scored twice and Barcelona’s nine goals conceded are one more than Atlético’s eight and the same as Madrid’s nine. Betis had Facundo Bernal sent off in the 54th minute, a minute after Ezzalzouli made it 3-2, and two of Barcelona’s five goals, from García and Olmo, came after the red card, which flatters the final scoreline. Real Madrid have lost two games but have scored 23 goals and beat Sevilla by three goals, and Atlético, who won 1-0 at Espanyol through Álex Baena’s 89th-minute goal, are only five points behind with one loss and a draw. A six-point gap with 29 matches still to play is not unassailable.
The title race matters across Spain because Barcelona’s lead, with nine rounds played, is already five points over Atlético and six over Real Madrid, the two clubs closest to them in the table. Real Sociedad, who won 5-2 at Málaga, are fifth on 16 points, while Málaga have four points from nine games, no wins and a goal difference of -12, so the gap between the top and the bottom of the division is already wide. Real Betis, in fourth with 19 points, stay in the race for European places.
Barcelona have not dropped a point and have scored more than any other club in the top six, but they conceded twice again. The lead is real, yet it is five points rather than an unassailable margin, and the next fixtures will test it.
