The Catalan side twice came from behind to overcome Real Betis on Sunday, much to the delight of their manager
Quique Setien praised Barcelona‘s resilience in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Real Betis but said there is still room for improvement from the LaLiga champions.
Sergio Canales’ early penalty for Betis was cancelled out by a wonderful goal from Frenkie de Jong, the Barcelona midfielder clinically dispatching Lionel Messi’s sublime pass.
Nabil Fekir restored Betis’ advantage with a fine finish, before Sergio Busquets scored a second equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
Clement Lenglet then headed home Messi’s free-kick 18 minutes from time to seal all three points, although the Frenchman blotted his copybook by picking up a second yellow card soon after Fekir was also dismissed for Betis.
“I really liked the team,” Barca head coach Setien said of his side, who are three points behind leaders Real Madrid. “There are things we could have done better, but I’m happy. We have come from behind twice.
“The team is improving in many things and I am very happy with the performance, the result and everything. We are still missing things, though.
“You have to enjoy the win because Betis are a great team, who were playing at home.”
Barca looked far from solid at the back in the first half but looked significantly more resilient after the break, much to Setien’s pleasure.
“We have improved a lot [in defence],” he added. “There are always some imbalances in the way we play, but I am quite happy with the defensive attitude of the team.
“In the second half, I don’t think we granted them a chance on goal.”
Betis president Angel Haro, meanwhile, insisted Barca have not made an approach for Loren Moron.
The striker, who came on as a second-half substitute on Sunday, has been linked with a move to Camp Nou as the LaLiga champions look to replace injured duo Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez.
Barca are said to be confident of securing special dispensation from authorities to bring in a Spain-based reinforcement outside of the transfer window, but Haro said they have not made a move for 26-year-old Moron.
“They have been linked, but they haven’t enquired or made a formal offer for him,” he told Movistar.
“There is talk of the player, but not in a serious way. It would be if we had an offer for the player, which we don’t.”
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