Facundo Bernal apologises after Real Betis red card in Barcelona defeat

Real Betis midfielder Facundo Bernal has apologised to his team-mates and the club’s supporters after being sent off during the 5-2 defeat by Barcelona.

Bernal was shown a red card in the 54th minute of the La Liga match after becoming involved in a heated exchange with Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal. His dismissal left Real Betis playing with 10 men for most of the second half and placed them under sustained pressure.

The Uruguay international issued his apology on social media several hours after the match, accepting responsibility for an incident he acknowledged had severely affected his side.

“I want to apologise to my team-mates and the Real Betis supporters because I left the team playing with 10 men,” Bernal wrote.

“I do not usually behave in this way, and I should have controlled my emotions during that incident. I take responsibility and it will not happen again.”

The match was played in a tense atmosphere before Barcelona completed a convincing victory in the ninth round of La Liga.

The result ended Real Betis’ unbeaten home record in the league, with their previous defeat at home having also come against Barcelona in December. That match finished 5-3.

It was also Real Betis’ first defeat in all competitions since April, when they lost 4-2 to Sporting Braga.

The game brought several notable landmarks for Barcelona players. Raphinha equalled Neymar’s record to become the Brazilian with the fifth-highest number of appearances for the club, reaching 186 matches in a Barcelona shirt.

Yamal also became the first player in Europe’s major leagues to provide 10 assists this season. He is now the leading contributor to goals across the ‘big five’ European leagues in all competitions during the current campaign, with nine goals and 10 assists.

Barcelona’s victory also maintained their perfect start to the season. They have won each of their first 11 competitive matches, a sequence they had not achieved since the 1923-24 season.