Robert Lewandowski continued his remarkable start to the season but couldn’t prevent Barcelona from dropping points in a 2-2 draw with Real Betis. Lewandowski scored his 16th goal of the league campaign, giving Barcelona the lead before Ferran Torres equalized for the visitors after Giovani Lo Celso’s penalty. However, Betis fought back, with Assane Diao snatching a late equaliser in the fourth minute of injury time.
Real Betis could have taken an early lead, as they created two clear chances in the opening three minutes. First, Raphinha cleared Diego Llorente’s header off the goalline, then Abde Ezzalzouli, a former Barcelona player, saw his one-on-one effort saved by Barca goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
Lamine Yamal wasted a good chance to open the scoring for Barcelona, but Robert Lewandowski made no such mistake. The Poland international scored his 16th league goal, converting a cross from Jules Kounde to finish a well-executed team move. This goal marked his 23rd in 21 appearances in all competitions, further highlighting Lewandowski’s superb form for Barcelona this season.
After halftime, Betis emerged with renewed energy and had several more opportunities to level the score. Sergi Altimira and Lo Celso both sent headers wide, while Chimy Avila’s snap-shot was tipped wide by Pena. Betis eventually found the equalizer when Lo Celso converted a penalty after Barcelona substitute Frenkie de Jong fouled Vitor Roque, who is on loan from the Catalan club.
With Barcelona pushing for a winner, they thought they had secured all three points when Torres beat the offside trap and finished a reverse pass from Yamal. However, in the dying moments of the match, Betis substitute Diao stunned Barcelona, scoring to level the game at 2-2.
The draw means Barcelona has surrendered some control in the title race. Currently, Barcelona is five points behind leaders Real Madrid, but Los Blancos have two games in hand.
Looking ahead, Barcelona will be in Champions League action against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday (20:00 GMT kick-off), before returning to La Liga action against Leganes on Sunday, 15 December. Despite the setback, Robert Lewandowski’s form remains a bright spot in Barcelona’s campaign.
