Four matches of the 12th round were played in the Spanish La Liga on Sunday.
At 17:15 at Camp Nou stadium, an intriguing clash took place between Barcelona and Sevilla's Real Betis teams. In a dramatic and high-scoring duel, Real Betis defeated Barcelona in their own fortress for the first time this season - 4:3.
From the beginning of the match, the Catalans pressed their opponents actively, but Real Betis managed to escape from the high pressure and soon showed their offensive potential.
By the 20th minute, Firpo Junior, receiving a good pass from William Carvalho, fooled Sergi Roberto and scored past the opponent's goalkeeper from the penalty area.
Real Betis didn't stop surprising the hosts - once again finding gaps in the opponent's defense, the away team sent Christian Tello to the edge, who found Joaquin uncovered in the penalty area and once again sent the ball into the opponent's goal with one stroke.
Barcelona managed to reduce the deficit in the 68th minute - Jordi Alba earned a penalty kick scored by Lionel Messi. However, the Catalan efforts were wiped out three minutes later - Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a huge mistake after Giovani Lo Celso's shot and allowed the opponents to regain a two-goal advantage.
Nevertheless, the country's champions didn't raise a white flag - after appearing on the pitch as a substitute, Arturo Vidal scored the second goal in the 79th minute. Barcelona was ready to push their opponents, but then Ivan Rakitic saw a red card in front of him - the Croat committed a foul in the middle of the field and received his second yellow card right before his eyes.
Guests from Andalusia soon took advantage - in the 83rd minute, Sergio Canales scored the fourth goal at Camp Nou stadium. In added time, the remaining Catalans managed to score, but there was no greater sensation - Real Betis celebrated a victory.
After the defeat, Barcelona remains at the top, but the advantage over the teams behind them is minimal.
In other matches at home, Huesca defeated Alaves, who maintained a great season with a one-point lead from the leaders.
In the later matches, Sevilla finally ended Barcelona's Espanyol unbeaten run. In the last minutes of the match, Andalusians also defeated Catalonians and reduced the gap from the leaders to one point.
In Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Villarreal shared the result in a high-scoring draw.
Results:
Barcelona 3 - 4 Real Betis
20' [0 - 1] F. Junior
34' [0 - 2] Joaquin
77' [1 - 2] L. Messi (penalty)
71' [1 - 3] G. Lo Celso
79' [2 - 3] A. Vidal
83' [2 - 4] S. Canales
90+2' [3 - 4] L. Messi
81' I. Rakitic (Barca) sent off from the field
Alaves 2 - 1 Huesca
34' [0 - 1] M. Gomez
40' [1 - 1] Jony
67' [2 - 1] R. Sobrino
Rayo 2 - 2 Villarreal
33' [0 - 1] S. Chukwueze
45' [1 - 1] R. De Tomas
66' [2 - 1] A. Garcia
80' [2 - 2] N. Sansone
90+2' Alvaro (Villarreal) sent off from the field
Sevilla 2 - 1 Espanyol
38' [0 - 1] B. Iglesias
70' [1 - 1] G. Mercado
89' [2 - 1] W. Ben Yedder
Standings:
