Barcelona Coach Luis Enrique hailed the Barcelona team that defeated Real Betis 6-2 despite the injury concerns ahead of the game.

Lionel Messi tried getting his third after hitting a brace but couldn’t. However, Luis Suarez got his with Messi assisting him. Ardan Turan was the one who opened scoring in the first half before Ruben Castro equalised through a free kick for the visitors. The 1-1 scoreline quickly changed with a Barca team that was missing seven first team players scoring goal after goal with Messi being the clear star in the match. The second goal for Betis came in the final minutes of the game.

Andres Iniesta, Neymar, Javier Mascherano , Jeremy Mathieu, Andre Gomes, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Rafinha were not on the list for the game due to injury, suspension or being in another event (Neymar). Jordi Alba, Samuel Umtiti, Gerard Pique were in defence leaving Ivan Rakitic, Turan, Sergio Busquets in the middle as they started their La Liga title defence.

“The players were very motivated and very active both in attack and defence. We were brave and very effective. A complete game,” Enrique told the club’s official website.

Sergi Roberto received a lot of acclaim for his effort in the game as full back. “Sergio Roberto, down the flank as always, very attentive in his defensive aspect of his game, and showed good anticipation. In attack, he was very good, looking for space and creating chances,” Enrique added.
Claudio Bravo was in front of goal but may felt he could have done more to stop the two goals from Real Betis. After the game, it was announced that he would be moving to Manchester City to join former coach Pep Guardiola. Guardiola benched former No 1 Joe Hart with the hope of bring in another, so may would wonder if Bravo is supposed to be the upgrade.