Barcelona won 5-2 at Real Betis in La Cartuja on Saturday 17 October, making them only the second team in La Liga history to win their first nine league games of a season. Real Madrid managed it in 1968-69. Lamine Yamal scored the first and made the fourth. Down 2-1 and still in the game at half-time, Betis lost Facundo Bernal to a straight red card nine minutes after the restart.
How it happened
Yamal gave Barcelona the lead in the 10th minute with a curling shot from about 25 yards. Betis levelled in the 27th minute when Valentín Gómez rose to head in. Barcelona went ahead again in the 41st minute when Rodri headed in a Fermín López corner.
Betis thought they had equalised just before the break as Giovani Lo Celso scored in the 44th minute, but the goal was ruled out for a handball by Cucho Hernández in the build-up.
Gabriel Jesus made it 3-1 in the 51st minute from a pass from Yamal. Abde Ezzalzouli pulled one back two minutes later, and La Cartuja believed for about 60 seconds. Then Bernal tried to headbutt Yamal twice, according to one report, and the referee sent him off in the 54th minute. Yamal was booked too, which says a lot about how the next ten minutes felt.
Eric García made it 4-2 in the 62nd minute. Dani Olmo came on as a substitute and finished the scoring in the 81st minute with a right-footed shot from outside the box.
🎥 | Lamine Yamal’s magnificent goal against Real Betis during today’s match. 🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/POp5I75l4h
— Access Yamal (@AccessYamal) October 17, 2026
The turning point
The red card. Betis were 3-2 down, playing with their best momentum of the night, and the stand was loud. After the dismissal, they had ten men against a side that moves the ball faster than most teams can run. Two goals in the next 27 minutes were almost inevitable.
The disallowed Lo Celso goal deserves a mention too. At 2-2 on 44 minutes, Betis would have gone into half-time level and with the crowd behind them. The handball call took that away.
Man of the Match
Lamine Yamal, of course, who scored the opener, set up Gabriel Jesus and drew the red card. He came on in the 69th minute, replacing Raphinha, who made his first appearance since the thigh problem. Yamal is 19, and he is also a leading contender for the Ballon d’Or in nine days’ time. This was a good advertisement.
Rodri deserves credit too. He headed in a corner and kept Barcelona’s midfield organised when the game threatened to turn chaotic.
What it means
Barcelona have 27 points from nine games, a perfect record, and stay top of La Liga. They also keep their unbeaten run in all competitions. The result lands three days before the trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday 20 October and eight days before the Clásico on Sunday 25 October.
Raphinha’s return matters for both. His 21 minutes at La Cartuja were a controlled test of the thigh, and Hansi Flick said last week that he would take it “step by step”. Betis, meanwhile, have lost a home game by three goals and will lose a player to suspension.
Barcelona face a very different test on Tuesday. Paris Saint-Germain will not be sitting on a red card.
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