In the Luis del Sol sports city, on a poor artificial turf pitch and with poorly lit goals on the sides, Barça could not display their best football, but they did their homework and took the win to remain undefeated in the Liga F. Rolfö, shortly before the break, Babajide's own goal in the second half, and Graham Hansen, with a great goal four minutes from time, signed the victory for the Catalan team in Seville.
After thrashing Benfica (9-0) in the Champions League on Wednesday, Jonatan Giráldez introduced some rotations in the eleven and also left Sandra Paños on the bench, who was discharged on Friday after overcoming a sprained ankle. The woman from Alicante will have to wait to return to defend the Barça goal, which in Seville was once again covered by a solid Gemma Font.
Nine minutes into the match, Barça was already in control with the ball and Fridolina Rolfö warned with a goal that would be annulled for offside. The azulgrana dominance was total against a locked Betis and trying to clear the danger in the boarding schools of an active Geyse Ferreira. The Andalusian team needed twenty minutes to test Font's reflexes, who responded confidently to a shot after a lateral free kick and a focused shot from Babajide.
But the clearest chances would be for Barcelona. Patri Guijarro crashed a left-footed shot into the post and Torrejón would finish off a header too weakly from a corner in the subsequent play. They were the best minutes of a Barça team that would hit the post again just three minutes later. A shot by Irene Paredes that would not have gone on the scoreboard either because it was annulled for a non-existent offside.
Those of Giráldez continued to besiege Malena's goal. Crnogorcevic was about to score with a shot that went too high and about to reach the break, at last, the Barça team would see his insistence rewarded. Torrejón crashed a ball into the post at the exit of a corner taken by Claudia Pina and Rolfö caught the rebound and pushed the ball into the back of the net for Barça to go to the locker room ahead on the scoreboard.
Lucy Bronze started the second half with a header that forced Malena to intervene to avoid Barça's second. A cross shot by Pina that went just wide and a shot by Crnogorcevic into the hands of the Betis goalkeeper were the best chances in the opening minutes. Barça's dominance was clouded by the poor state of the pitch, which made it difficult to play good football. Nor was it a show for viewers to enjoy, the angle of the cameras unworthy of a professional team, tarnished the television experience and, as the minutes passed and it got dark, the lighting was not up to par either.
Giráldez moved the bench to distribute minutes, in anticipation of a tight schedule like the one that awaits the Barça team, who will play the Champions League again next week, when they will travel to Sweden to face Rosengård. Aitana, Graham Hansen and Engen entered first, and shortly after Oshoala and Mapi León.
The Catalan team continued to lead the game and on the scoreboard and, in the 75th minute, they would widen the gap, taking advantage of the rival's misfortune in a corner kick that Babajide would end up inserting into his own goal. The sentence would come from the boots of Caroline Graham Hansen with four minutes to go. A real goal from the Norwegian soccer player who orients the ball with exquisite control and shoots into the back of the net over Malena.
With this victory, Barça continues to be the leader of the F League, in which it counts its games by victories. 15 points and 18 goals scored for just one conceded are the balance of the reigning champion of the First Division. Next Thursday, Giraldez's men will face Rosengård on Swedish soil (6:45 p.m.) on matchday two of the Champions League group stage.
