Flick says Torres owns La Cartuja after second hat-trick against Betis

Hansi Flick declared the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville belongs to Ferran Torres, after the forward scored his second hat-trick at the venue in Barcelona’s 5-3 victory over Real Betis.

Betis are hosting their games at La Cartuja while the Estadio Benito Villamarin is renovated, but there were few home comforts to be found for Los Verdiblancos on Saturday.

Barca edged out Manuel Pellegrini’s men in an eight-goal thriller, with Torres netting a first-half treble and being joined on the scoresheet by Roony Bardghji and Laime Yamal.

Torres also scored a hat-trick at the same stadium for Spain in 2020, in a dominant 6-0 Nations League victory over Germany.

“He’s a very intelligent player. He knows how to interpret spaces very well and he did it fantastically well today,” Flick said of Torres after full-time.

“He has a very good mentality and lots of confidence. This is the way forward. He deserves to be in the starting XI.

“He is always there when he is needed. This stadium is Ferran Torres’ stadium, also when he plays with the national team, he also scored a hat-trick here.”

Torres also scored a hat-trick versus Betis in a 4-2 victory at the Villamarin in January 2024, meaning his only two trebles in LaLiga have both come in away games against them.

The former Manchester City attacker scored his three goals from five shots with a total expected goals (xG) value of 1.03, with all of his efforts hitting the target.

While Barca are now four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga ahead of Los Blancos’ meeting with Celta Vigo on Sunday, Betis are fifth in the table, seven points off the top four.

Pellegrini believed there were positives to take from his team’s performance, saying: “We lacked effectiveness to convert the chances in the first half.

“That was the difference in the first half, they had the same chances and scored them. Then, we came up against a very effective Barcelona team.

“I don’t think we lacked aggressiveness. It was a disastrous game on the defensive side. We were the second-best defence in LaLiga, but we had those shortcomings here.”

Barca are in action in the Champions League on Tuesday, at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, before Osasuna visit Camp Nou on December 13.