Barcelona Secures La Liga Lead Ahead of Champions League Return

Barcelona secured a thrilling 5-3 victory over Real Betis at the Estadio La Cartuja on Saturday, in a match part of the 15th round of the Spanish La Liga.

Real Betis opened the scoring early through Antony in the 6th minute. Barcelona quickly responded with two consecutive goals from Ferran Torres in the 11th and 13th minutes.

Rony Bardghji extended Barcelona's lead with the third goal in the 31st minute, before Ferran Torres completed his hat-trick, scoring Barcelona's fourth goal in the 40th minute.

In the second half, Lamine Yamal added Barcelona's fifth goal in the 59th minute. Real Betis reduced the deficit with Diego Llorente scoring their second in the 85th minute, followed by Cucho Hernández converting a penalty in the 90th minute for their third.

With this result, Barcelona increased their tally to 40 points, maintaining their position at the top of the La Liga standings. Real Betis, on the other hand, remained on 24 points, staying in fifth place.

Barcelona will host German side Eintracht Frankfurt next Tuesday (21:00 GMT+1) in the sixth round of the Champions League group stage.