Barcelona Cut Gap Back To Five Points
Por soccernut
soccer,la liga
Barcelona returned to within five points of Liga leaders Real Madrid with a 4-2 defeat of ten-man Real Betis, on a day when Athletic Club improved their European chances by beating Levante.

Josep Guardiola’s men made an explosive start at Camp Nou as Xavi Hernández opened the scoring after ten minutes and Lionel Messi took his league tally to 18 shortly afterwards. The game was far from won, though, with Rubén Castro reducing the deficit just after the half-hour and Roque Santa Cruz levelling after the break, but a second yellow card for defender Mario left Betis with ten men for the final 20 minutes.