Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 at the Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja in Seville on Saturday 17 October 2026, with 19-year-old Lamine Yamal scoring a solo opener and creating another goal. The result was Barcelona's ninth consecutive La Liga victory, a run that equals the record start to a league season held by Real Madrid, and it kept the Catalan side at the top of the table.
Yamal broke the deadlock in the 10th minute. Valentín Gómez levelled for Betis before the half-hour mark, in the 27th minute, but Rodri restored the visitors' advantage in the 41st. Betis thought they had equalised again when Giovani Lo Celso found the net, only for the goal to be ruled out because Cucho Hernández had handled the ball in the build-up to the move.
Early in the second half Gabriel Jesus made it 3-1 in the 51st minute, with Yamal providing the final pass. Abde Ezzalzouli pulled one back for Betis in the 53rd minute, but the hosts then lost Facundo Bernal, who was sent off in the 54th minute for head-butting Yamal after the celebrations. Barcelona used their extra man well, adding goals from Eric García in the 62nd minute and Dani Olmo in the 81st.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was full of praise for his teenage forward. "Lamine today also, when you see the first goal ... unbelievable. This is for me, at the moment, the best player in the world," Flick said. He also tried to keep the focus on bigger targets, adding: "This is nice, but we want to win titles." Yamal now has nine goals and nine assists in 11 appearances in all competitions this season.
Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini was unhappy with several refereeing calls. He described them as "incomprehensible and inexplicable decisions". Pellegrini said Barcelona's third goal should have been disallowed for a foul by Fermín López, and he argued Bernal had been provoked by Yamal before the red card. Betis were left to reflect on a contest in which they had hit back twice but could not hold on.
Barcelona's attack has been prolific, with 39 goals in nine league games, 20 more than any other team in the division. Their previous outing came on 13 October, when they won 4-1 at Galatasaray in the Champions League in Istanbul. Yamal did not score there but set up Fermín López and Anthony Gordon in the second half, and the victory was Barcelona's tenth in ten matches this season.
Barcelona now turn to El Clásico, where they face Real Madrid next Sunday. A victory in that fixture would give Barcelona the outright record for the best start to a La Liga season, taking them beyond the mark they currently share with their rivals. Flick's side will go into the contest with Yamal in strong form and an attack that has scored freely all season.
