Rodri celebrates first Barcelona goal as leaders beat Real Betis 5-2

Rodri said scoring his first goal for Barcelona was especially satisfying after the leaders overcame a difficult test to beat Real Betis 5-2 in La Liga.

The midfielder struck in the ninth round of the season as Barcelona maintained their perfect record with a ninth consecutive victory. The result moved them to 27 points at the top of the table, while Real Betis remained third on 19 points.

“I am extremely happy, firstly because of the victory,” Rodri told reporters. “This is one of the most difficult stadiums in La Liga for me. Real Betis were going through a wonderful period and played a great match.

“I am also happy with the goal because it came at the moment when we were suffering the most.”

Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Eric Garcia, Gabriel Jesus and Dani Olmo scored Barcelona’s five goals. Valentin Gomez and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli replied for Real Betis.

Yamal’s goal earned particular praise from Rodri, who said the teenager’s attacking quality was matched by his commitment to the team.

“What a wonderful goal,” he said. “We are used to Lamine scoring goals like that, so I do not have much more to say. Players of this type make the difference and what he is producing is exceptional.

“But I also focus on his work and his commitment to the team. It is true that he became involved in some provocation afterwards, but he played a great match.”

Rodri also commented on a handball decision and the sending-off involving a Real Betis player.

“It was very clearly an unnatural movement and the ball changed direction,” he said. “The referees’ decisions must be respected. I did not see the sending-off, but Lamine was on the ground, so something must have happened.”

The defeat was Real Betis’ first at home in La Liga since they lost 5-3 to Barcelona in December. It was also their first defeat in all competitions since a 4-2 loss to Sporting Braga in April.

The match brought several individual milestones. Raphinha equalled Neymar’s record to become the fifth-most capped Brazilian player in Barcelona’s history, with 186 appearances for the club.

Yamal became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach 10 assists this season. He is also the leading goal contributor across the five major European leagues in all competitions, with nine goals and 10 assists.

Barcelona’s victory also extended a remarkable start to the campaign. They have won their opening 11 competitive matches of the season for the first time since 1923-24.