Barcelona vs Real Betis: Messi nets brace as Catalan giants win 5-2

- Barcelona vs Real Betis saw the Catalan giants battle to win all three points

- Lionel Messi who was introduced in the second half scored a brace

- The visitors were reduced to ten men after Aissa Mandi was sent off in the 61st minute

PAY ATTENTION: Win a prize of N115,000, N75000 or N38000: participate in Big Naija Independence contest by Legit.ng

Lionel Messi who came-off the bench in the second half produced a man-of-the-match performance to help his side to a 5-2 win over stubborn Real Betis.

It was Ousmane Dembélé who fired a rocket into the far corner to put the hosts 1-0 ahead in the 22nd minute and despite VAR check for a possible offside, the goal stood as the United target got his third of the season in style.

Antoine Griezmann missed a chance to make it two-nil in the 33rd minute when he missed from the spot after Bartra tripped Ansu Fati in the box.

Bravo produced a fine save to deny the Frenchman who took the spot kick poorly.

However was 1-1 in stoppage-time of the first half after Moreno played a cross from the left which took a slight deflection of Sergi Roberto that caught Pique off guard before Sanabria latched onto the loose ball to score.

Ronald Koeman introduced Lionel Messi at the start of the second half and just four minutes after the restart, the Argentine magically created a goal without touching the ball.

Alba played a ball to the Argentine captain, who, using the eyes on the back of his head, geniously played a dummy to let the ball run pass him to Griezmann for an easy tap in.

Betis were reduced in the 61st minute when Aissa Mandi handled the ball on the goal line and Messi converted the penalty to make it 3-1.

And it was 3-2 after Loren Moron connected well with Alex Moreno's low drive in the area as ten-man Betis looked to upset their hosts.

However, Messi had another plans when he found himself alone in the area and then blasted the ball into the net to complete his brace; Pedri then completed the rout in stoppage-time as it ended; Barcelona 5-2 Real Betis.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has jumped to Lionel Messi's defence after the Argentine was labelled 'lazy'.

The Argentine was spotted walking instead of pressing towards the final moments of their Champions League win against the Ukrainian side.

The Dutchman has however shouldered any blame saying the lack of effort would be down to his methods rather than the player's laziness. He told the media during his match conference on Friday, November 6.

We haven't gotten the houses FG promised us in 1994 - Siasia raises alarm | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng