Yamal Leads Barcelona to 9th Straight Win, Equalling La Liga Record

Spanish football powerhouse FC Barcelona continued its march at the top of the table by tying the La Liga record for the most consecutive wins to start a season with nine straight victories.

Barcelona secured a resounding 5-2 away victory against Real Betis in the 9th round of La Liga held at the La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, Spain, today (October 18).

With nine wins to open the season (27 points), Barcelona matched the record of nine consecutive wins set by Real Madrid in the 1968-1969 season, which was previously the best-ever start in La Liga history.

In particular, Barcelona has showcased frightening finishing ability during its nine-game opening winning streak, scoring a massive 39 goals (conceding 9) to outscore second-place Atletico Madrid (22 points, 19 goals) by 20 goals.

Barcelona's massive victory was spearheaded by Yamal.

Yamal became the primary contributor to the team's victory by scoring the opening goal and assisting Gabriel Jesus on the team's third goal.

In addition, Rodri scored his debut goal for Barcelona just 8 matches after joining the club this season, while Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo also joined in on the scoring parade.

On the other hand, Betis, which sat 3rd in the regular league, collapsed on its own during a fierce chase when Facundo Bernal received a red card and was sent off following a war of words with Yamal.

Barcelona took control early when Yamal struck a left-footed shot from the right corner of the penalty area into the top-left corner of the opponent's goal just 10 minutes into the first half.

Betis immediately leveled the score in the 27th minute of the first half with a header equalizer from Valentin Gomez.

Having conceded the equalizer, Barcelona pulled ahead 2-1 in the 41st minute of the first half when Rodri found the net with a header from a left-side corner kick.

Ending the first half up 2-1, Barcelona extended the score to 3-1 in the 6th minute of the second half when Jesus pushed a right-footed shot home from right in front of the goal area, following a cross sent in by Yamal from the right side of the penalty area.

Betis scored a chasing goal just two minutes later, but that was as far as they went.

It proved fatal when Bernal received a red card and was sent off in the 9th minute of the second half during a confrontation with Yamal, plunging the team into a numerical disadvantage.

Barcelona then completed its resounding victory with a clinching goal by Garcia followed by a finishing goal from Olmo.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.