The spirit of Ferran Torres can do everything, also with Isco and Betis. And even with the umpteenth short circuit of his own Barça. The forward’s winning mentality prevailed in Villamarín in a crazy match, which went from being controlled and closed to open and unbridled in five minutes. Betis had many absences, including injuries, being called up for the Africa Cup and the sale of Guardado, but they were not a defeated opponent even at 0-2. He matched it with a magical Isco. However, he ran into a Ferran Torres who made the improbable possible and who deprived him of glory. If Xavi’s men have not said the last word about him, it is because of the stubbornness of his number 7.
Barcelona, ??thanks to the Valencian, author of a hat trick and an assist, overcame and took the three points in a field where neither Madrid, Atlético nor Girona had been able to get them. A new, almost miraculous, merit for the former Valencia and City player in his quest to convince and succeed at Blaugrana. In his 100th game with Barça he showed that he has the morale for the impossible. The comeback to fight for the League depends on irrational actions and putting a lot of faith. In that, Ferran Torres is unbeatable and can even be a guide.
Barcelona also had casualties, especially in defense, and having played the second half in the Unionistas field in the Cup.
Barça, not content with one, played with two 16-year-old players, something never seen this century in the League. And that joy that comes with youth became contagious. The point of irreverence for wanting to take on the world and the desire to show that the two youth players contributed was wonderful for the Blaugrana team, which this season had shown itself to be subdued. The spark of Lamine Yamal and the confidence of Cubarsí were the hand of a saint, the two ingredients that changed the flavor of the recipe from being bland to having flavor and even spicy. The new blood refreshed a stagnant game.
The young winger was very inspired in the one-on-one and to face up he benefited from the good circulation that formed the most talented midfield that the Barcelona squad has and how well Pedri and Ferran received behind the Betic pivots . In one of those, De Jong left the canary against Rui Silva but the Vaseline went high. The next time, Pedri preferred to play and assist his good friend Ferran Torres, who only had to push.
They were Barça’s best minutes, which found a thousand ways to the goal, almost always through Lamine Yamal. The post frustrated the youth team’s 0-2 after cutting Sokratis and Cardoso and then the referee annulled a goal by Lewandowski after a wall with Ferran Torres. The Pole was ahead at the start of the play when Lamine Yamal enabled him after a roulette.
Barcelona had deserved to unbalance the match in that final stretch and they achieved it at the start of the second to nullify Pellegrini’s modification, which turned to Fekir and Borja Iglesias. It was once again Lamine Yamal who destroyed the green and white defense on the right wing. This time he won the baseline with a bicycle to beat Abner and his cross-shot hit the woodwork again. The rebound fell to Ferran Torres who sent it into the net first. The Valencian seems different in 2024, effective and decisive, accurate and opportunistic.
But there are things that do not change and the defensive fragility re-emerged when Barça had played its best. In five minutes, he conceded three chances that put Betis fully into the game. Koundé took the ball over the line after the first corner by the locals, who turned the whistles into applause in the blink of an eye. Isco has Villamarín bewitched after the goodbye of Canales and Joaquín. Everything begins and ends with the man from Malaga and the former Madrid player took advantage of the total disconnection of the Blaugrana. First he finished off an action in which Araújo bothered Iñaki Peña and then he was caught off guard to finish a play in which the referee had signaled Borja Iglesias was offside. The VAR validated the play and Barça looked stunned, not understanding how he had gone from having the duel in his pocket to having to win it for the second time.
The reaction from the bench did not take long and was to a certain extent surprising because Vitor Roque entered the field (up to this point it was normal for the 2-2) but the substitute was Lewandowski, the supposed star for whom nothing had come of it. The problem for Barcelona was that Betis had believed it and the speed of Luiz Henrique, who already had a goal in the 4th minute, was a danger in the face of the visitors’ rush. Cubarsí crossed his path once and the next time against the Brazilian he shot across the field.
The street runner was one of those who put everyone on edge, because the game could fall from any side. Nobody was consistent or spared any effort to win the game. And in the duel between Ferran and Isco João Félix appeared. In the 90th minute, the Valencian found him on the edge and the Portuguese resolved with a great shot from the outside.
There was no doubt that it was the night of Ferran Torres, scorer and assistant in his 100th Blaugrana game, who could not leave without his hat-trick. He achieved it in a counterattack in which he went alone and beat Rui Silva already in added time. Ferran’s mentality imbued his teammates with resilience and rescued Barça. Torres can do everything.
Betis: Rui Silva, Bellerín, Pezzella, Sokratis, Abner, Marc Roca, Johnny Cardoso (Sergi Altimira 73), Luiz Henrique, Isco, Assane Diao (Fekir 46) and Willian José (Borja Iglesias 46).
Coach: Manuel Pellegrini
Barcelona: Iñaki Peña, Kound, Araújo, Cubarsi (John Felix 81), Balde, De Jong, Gündogan, Pedri (Fermin 71), Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Lewandowski (Vitor Roque 63).
Coach: Xavi Hernández
Stadium: Benito Villamarín (52,288 spectators).
Referee: Gil Manzano (c. Extremadura).
Cards: Yellow for De Jong, Abner and Vitor Roque.
Goals: 0-1 Ferran Torres (21), 0-2 Ferran Torres (48), 1-2 Isco (56), 2-2 Isco (59), 2-3 João Félix (90), 2-4 Ferran Torres (92).