FC Barcelona continued to strengthen their lead at the top of LaLiga with a 2-1 win over Real Betis on Wednesday evening.
Robert Lewandowski returned from a three-match suspension while Andreas Christensen and Raphinha were also re-called from the 1-0 win over Girona FC on Saturday.
The host made a strong start and went close to taking the lead following a snap effort by Luiz Henrique off a pin-point pass by Borja Iglesias, but the attempt was blocked by Alejandro Balde.
In a tense opening, the Catalans struggled to get forward momentum and unlock the host though a clever effort from a decent area by Pedri very nearly rattled the back of the net.
The Blaugrana did find the back of the net three minutes from the half-hour mark when Raphinha headed in at the far post from Frenkie De Jong's supply, but the goal wasn't awarded following an offside.
After a rather quiet first half, Barcelona looked to go ahead early in the second period where Pedri rifled in a ball from Balde but Rui Silva beat the effort away and kept matters level.
Betis didn't sit deep but were eager to push the Catalans giants to the edge in which William Carvalho dropped in space from deep and worked in a shot that travelled off target.
The Blaugrana, though, went in front midway in the second half when Raphinha peeled off a delivery from Balde to beat Silva with a smart finish.
Following a quiet spell, the visitors grabbed a second goal in the final ten minutes after Lewandowski finished off Ronald Araujo's delivery.
This saw the Catalan coach Xavi Hernandez introduce Ansu Fati for Raphinha before former Manchester City striker Ferran Torres came on for Gavi.
Betis did have hope of a comeback though five minutes later as a defensive lapse at the back saw Jules Kounde fire into his own net.
With the host threatening to go level in the final stages, the Blaugrana managed to see out the win and continued their winning run of form.
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