Barcelona blatantly robbed of a goal and spills more La Liga points at Betis

If you assess the whole of Barcelona’s game at Real Betis on Sunday honestly, you’ll find that the 1-1 tie flattered Barca somewhat. Even though Luis Enrique’s side was denied an obvious goal, which had crossed the line by several feet.

Because for the first 75 minutes, 14th-place Betis had been superior to third-place Barca, which spilled points for the fifth time in its last nine La Liga games. Luis Suarez’s late equalizer to Alex Alegria’s go-ahead goal split the points. But the Catalans badly needed all three in their pursuit of leader Real Madrid, which would have the chance to increase its lead to four points – with a game in hand, theoretically making it s seven-point gap.

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Yes, you could point out that Barcelona is still missing key players Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta in midfield, but then Real Betis was also down several key men.

The home side threatened and attacked all game long, showing no deference for the dynasty that had come to pay a visit. And while Denis Suarez had the first chance for Barca – his finish was deflected wide – Betis had the better looks. A bad Lucas Digne turnover in his own third gave Gonzalo Castro a shot, but he scuffed it right at Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. Ter Stegen then had to make a sprawling save on a swerving shot from Dani Ceballos, who would distinguish himself all game long and be named man of the match.

Not until the 38th minute did Barca forge another chance, but Neymar was denied well by goalkeeper Antonio Adan. The Brazilian was then played through the line and squared for Luis Suarez, who was denied by Adan too – although Neymar was offside anyway.

Barcelona again had the first chance of the second half, when Lionel Messi switched the ball to the onrushing Aleix Vidal, but he zipped his half-volley wide. More clumsy play in the back gifted Betis several chances, like when Ter Stegen also committed an ugly blunder in giving away a chance when Castro closed him down.

Betis crept ever closer as the second half wore on. Ceballos ripped a shot off the bar, helped by a touch from Ter Stegen.

Ruben Castro cut inside from the wing and knocked his shot off the near post.

In the 75th minute, a scramble on the corner ensuing from Castro’s shot was volleyed in by Alegria.

That finally roused a sleepy Barcelona, playing a rare noon kickoff. In the 79th minute, Neymar was blatantly pulled down in the box but somehow denied a penalty. On the same play, the ball was bundled several feet over the goal line by Betis defender Cristiano Piccini before it was cleared off the underside of the bar by Aissa Mandi. Inexplicably, the goal wasn’t awarded.

On the next run down the field, Vidal’s cutback was, again, almost slid into Betis’s own net by a defender, but it was cleared off the line by Mandi again – or, well, for the first time.

Castro then had a one-on-one opportunity opposite Ter Stegen to put the game away, but he dallied on his finish and was closed down.

That’s when Barca finally got its goal. In the 90th minute, the largely unseen Messi won the ball just outside the box and dispatched a perfect through ball for Suarez, who rolled in the equalizer with a kiss off the post.

Barcelona’s comeback would fall short. And, on the strength of its entire performance – and in particular the bungling in the back – a winner would have been undeserved.

The campaign to win a third straight La Liga title is now deeply troubled. And there isn’t really anybody to blame by Barca other than its own profligacy. Five ties in nine games – for 10 dropped points – don’t exactly position you for success in the top-heavy Spanish league.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.