Barcelona ended their four-game La Liga winless streak with a 5-2 home win over Real Betis – but suffered a big injury blow with Ansu Fati facing several months out.
The 18-year-old forward sustained a knee injury during Saturday’s game, with the club later confirming he had ruptured the internal meniscus in his left knee. Barça are weighing up different treatment options which will affect the length of his spell on the sidelines. The Spain international has scored five goals in La Liga and the Champions League already this season.
Lionel Messi started on the bench but came on at half-time with the game level and scored twice. Ousmane Dembélé’s superb strike put the hosts ahead, but Antonio Sanabria equalised for the visitors just before the interval. Messi produced a sublime dummy to set up an open goal for Antoine Griezmann, who atoned for a missed penalty in the first half.
Messi stretched the hosts’ lead just after the hour mark, dispatching a penalty after Aïssa Mandi was shown a straight red card for handball. Ten-man Betis pulled a goal back through Loren Morón, who scored at the far post after Alex Moreno’s marauding run down the left flank. Messi struck again soon after, smashing the ball into the top corner after a back-heel from Sergi Roberto, who also set up Pedri for Barça’s fifth.
After the game, Ronald Koeman said Messi began on the bench because of fitness concerns. “We decided that the best thing was to leave him on the bench in case we needed him,” the Barcelona manager said. “He would have started if he hadn’t had any discomfort. We all know who he is and I don’t have any doubts about him.”
“We deserved the victory and we also deserved to have scored more goals before half-time,” Koeman added. “We showed the same spirit in the second half, scored five goals and it could have been more. This is an important win, we really needed the three points after our recent results.”
Atlético Madrid moved to the top of the table and continued their unbeaten start with a 4-0 home win over Cádiz. João Félix starred for the hosts, punishing a mistake from Cádiz keeper Jeremias Ledesma to open the scoring.
Marcos Llorente made it 2-0 before the break, and Félix set up Luis Suárez for the third – awarded by VAR after an incorrect offside call. Félix completed the rout with a ruthless finish in added time. Earlier, Sevilla picked up a much-needed win after Lucas Ocampos’ penalty secured a 1-0 victory over Osasuna.
Granada have asked the Spanish FA to postpone Sunday’s match against Real Sociedad, after several members of their squad and staff tested positive for Covid-19. Forward Antonio Puertas showed symptoms while the team were in Cyprus for their Europa League tie with Omonia; as a result, all players who travelled reportedly cannot take part in San Sebastián.
The Andalucíans were already without a number of players and staff, including coach Diego Martínez, the defender Jesús Vallejo and the forward Roberto Soldado, after positive tests. “The club has requested for the game to be postponed due to not having the minimum number of players required,” a club statement said.
In France, leaders PSG eased to a 3-0 home win over Rennes but Moise Kean joined Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Mauro Icardi on the injury list. The on-loan Everton forward opened the scoring with Ángel Di María’s double securing victory.