Guardiola farewell ends in Betis draw
Pep Guardiola said goodbye to La Liga with a 2-2 draw at Real Betis in his last game on the Barcelona bench.
Sergio Busquets put La Blaugrana ahead on nine minutes, getting free of his marker to head Xavi Hernandez’ corner past goalkeeper Casto as Barca dominated the opening period. Messi, Xavi and Adriano all went close, but the visitors were dealt a blow eight minutes after the break when Dani Alves was sent off for a second yellow card following a brutal challenge on Jefferson Montero.
The one-man advantage galvanised Los Beticos and the impressive Ruben Castro scored twice in three minutes midway through the half, firstly lobbing Victor Valdes after Roque Santa Cruz had headed on then picking up Benat’s through-ball to calmly slot past the Barca keeper.
However, two minutes into stoppage time Malian midfielder Seydou Keita rescued a point for Barca’s 10 men, steering a downward header past Casto from Martin Montoya’s cross for the equaliser.
Guardiola’s final game in charge will be the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25.
In the other fixture of the evening another boss also said his farewell, Unai Emery signing off his four-year spell at Valencia with a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad. Antoine Griezmann’s 63rd minute goal proved enough to take the points at Anoeta in an uneventful match where both sides had little to play for.
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