After the first win in La Liga against Sporting, Barcelona hardly beats Betis, and collects another three points. Positive result makes them go up to seven points, only three points away from the head of the table.

Barca started strong, surrounded by high spirit after the big win last weekend. They looked confidence and going for the opening goal, which they succeeded on the 17th minute, when Eto sent powerful ball from the edge of the area that rattled the bar before it goes into the net. Six minutes later, Eto added his second in the game, and celebrated his 100 goals with the Blaugrana.

After the break, Barca didn’t seem able to keep the rhythm, the players seemed careless and loosing the possession of the ball. Betis made them pay the price, when Monzón scored from the indirect free kick, taking the advantage of the poor wall defense. The game became more open from both sides, and it looked like one of them was going to score. The shocking moments for Barca fans arrived when Jose Mari lifted the ball over Valdes to tie the game at 2-2 in the 66th minute.

In order to reform the team, Guardiola used the first two substitutions by sending on Gudjohnsen and Busquets instead of Yaya and Keita. Eto was replaced after by Bojan who had his first serious contact with the ball when he tried from distant, but his effort was denied by Casto, who kept Betis in the game in many occasions.

The equaliser raised the tension between the two sides, and Barca pushed forward to grab the winning goal. Alves who hasn’t appeared yet at his full strength since he joined the team, from his first decent cross, Gudjohnsen with an excellent left-footed shot, puts Barca on the right track to win the game. Bojan had his chance to insure the three points, but Casto again, keeps the result unchanged.

In general, the team played well, they were organized most of the time, they kept the ball under their feet and they played their usual attacking football. But beside the fact that Barca couldn’t keep their net clean once, the attitude of the players in the second half could have cost them the three points. These issues have to be solved as quickly as possible, especially before the next game against Espanyol, the team that made them suffer in previous seasons.