BARCELONA: Barcelona spurned the chance to extend their lead at the top of the LaLiga standings when they were held at home 1-1 by Real Betis on Saturday, with visiting defender Natan canceling out Gavi’s early opener.

The draw moves Hansi Flick’s Barca on to 67 points, four ahead of rivals Real Madrid who slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home by Valencia earlier on Saturday, while Betis climbed to fifth on 48 points.

The hosts had been given further motivation by Real’s shocking loss and had a great start when Gavi opened the scoring from close range, brilliantly assisted by Ferran Torres in a great team play seven minutes after kickoff.

However, Natan headed the equalizer from a corner in the 17th minute and though they dominated, Barca could not find a way past 38-year-old goalkeeper Adrian who made a string of saves later on to frustrate the hosts.

Adrian’s brilliant performance started even before Barca opened the scoring, when he palmed away Pedri’s strike from inside the box, but there was nothing he could do to keep Gavi from scoring moments later.

Barca kept up the pressure after taking the lead but Betis equalized from a Giovanni lo Celso corner which Natan jumped higher than defender Ronald Araujo to meet and head into the back of the net.

Adrian came to the rescue again as he made a stunning one-handed save from a Lamine Yamal curling strike from inside the box in the 38th minute.

Coach Hansi Flick subbed on Raphinha in the second half and Barca came back even stronger, dominating more than 75 percent of possession but wasting too many chances.

The Brazilian forward was a constant menace and missed with a curling strike from the edge of the box, with Adrian making two great efforts to deny a Jules Kounde strike in the 55th minute and a Fermin Lopez shot in the 85th.

“If we won we would be higher up the table, but in the end it’s football,” Gavi told Movistar Plus.

“We’re bitter about the result, because we couldn’t take advantage of the chances we had throughout the match, but we have to accept it and move on.”

JEDDAH: It was honors even in a thrilling Sea Derby on Saturday as Al-Ahli drew 2-2 with Al-Ittihad who twice came back to earn a precious point.
A 95th minute strike from Karim Benzema broke the hearts of home fans and put the leaders five points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League.
For the 60,000 fans at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, there was plenty of excitement and entertainment in a game that could have gone either way.
There was some worrying news for Al-Ittihad fans as goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic picked up an injury in the thrilling King’s Cup semifinal win over Al-Shabab on Tuesday but stand-in Mohammed Al-Mahasneh showed his worth early in the first start of the season.
In the eighth minute, he saved from Firas Al-Buraikan’s low shot from inside the area and then got down quickly to deny Ivan Toney from the rebound.
At the other end, Edouard Mendy returned to the number one position and returned to fitness for Al-Ahli, who had not played a competitive game for three weeks. There is no doubt however that his opposite number had more to do in the early exchanges. It could have been worse as Ittihad survived two penalty appeals turned down late in the first half.
The Tigers were, however, starting to look dangerous and just before the break, N’Golo Kante broke into the area, went around the goalkeeper but pulled his shot just wide.
The miss became more painful four minutes after the restart as Al-Ahli took the lead with a simple set piece. Riyad Mahrez swung over a corner kick from the left and Brazilian defender Ibanez climbed high on the edge of the six-yard box to head the Greens into a deserved lead.
It was all looking good for the hosts but then, with 15 minutes remaining, the fans in yellow and black were celebrating. Saleh Al-Shehri dropped deep and his slide rule pass found Moussa Diaby on the right side of the area and the French winger made no mistake with his first time shot.
Then, in the 82nd minute, Al-Ahli were back in front. Kante tried to block a cross but succeeded only in finding Ivan Toney and the England striker shot home from close range.
That strike looked as if it had won a famous victory for the home team but for the second time in four days, Al-Ittihad hit back deep into added time. Abdulelah Al-Amri found Benzema with an exquisite pass to the back post and the former Real Madrid star was never going to miss.
The goal takes the leaders onto 62 points from 26 games, five clear of Al-Hilal. Al-Nassr are third with 54, two and five ahead of Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ahli respectively.