Messi makes it 2–0 with a calm left-footed finish from the center of the box after timing his run onto Alexis Sánchez’s whipped cross. He meets the delivery perfectly and places the shot into the middle of the goal beyond Casto.

Messi is booked for handling the ball, the referee showing him a yellow card after judging that he used his arm illegally in the build-up. The incident briefly breaks Barcelona’s rhythm before halftime.

Messi gets on the end of an Éric Abidal cross and fires a left-footed shot from the middle of the box, but Casto stands firm and saves in the center of his goal. It’s a clear chance that keeps the Betis goalkeeper busy.

From outside the box, Messi unleashes a left-footed effort that is blocked before it can test Casto. The shot comes after Barcelona work the ball into space for him on the edge of the area.

Messi latches onto another Abidal delivery in the center of the box and strikes with his left foot, but his shot is blocked by a Betis defender. The move again shows Barcelona’s ability to find Messi in dangerous central positions.

After Chechu Dorado is penalised for handball, Messi steps up and rifles the spot-kick left-footed into the top-left corner to make it 4–2. The emphatic penalty kills off Betis’s hopes of a late comeback.