Barca went into the game looking to extend lead at the top of La Liga to 11 points and they did just that, thanks mainly to a ruthless show of finishing in the second half.
The first 45, whilst well contested led to very few chances of note.
A low effort from Betis midfielder Andres Guardado that skidded wide with just three minutes on the clock was the closest either side got in the first 25 minutes.
Whilst Sergi Roberto arguably should have done better when he fired over from 12 yards after exchanging passes with Luis Suarez.
That was it for chances in a first half that wasn’t short on effort but lacked quality at times, but there was still time before the break for Barca to suffer a blow as defender Thomas Vermaelen limped off after pulling up in a foot race with Sergio Leon.
With that the two sides went in level at the break, but a much improved Barca side ensured that things did not stay that way for long.
- Second half improvement -
After Ter Stegen has been forced into a low save to deny Fabian, Barca decided that enough was enough and promptly took the lead.
Luis Suarez received the ball on halfway and played the perfect ball in behind for Ivan Rakitic to race clear and the former Sevilla man made no mistake, slotting beneath Antonio Adan to open the scoring.
Within five minutes Barca had doubled their lead, with Messi taking advantage of a sleeping Feddal to gather the ball on the edge of the box and power past Adan.
21 January 2018
From that point on the floodgates were open and the previously quiet Messi started to run riot.
With 69 minutes gone it was 3-0. Messi fed Rakitic on the right and his cross was perfect for Suarez to volley home from 10 yards.
Barca were barely breaking a sweat at this point and it was merely a case of how many they would win by.
Gaps at the back became a common occurrence for a broken Betis in the latter stages of the game with Messi taking full advantage with 10 minutes to go. Suarez fed the Argentine out on the right and the 30-year-old did the rest, cutting inside and leaving two Betis defenders for dead before passing the ball past Adan and into the bottom corner with the minimum of fuss.
Suarez completed the rout in the last minute of regulation time, slotting home after Messi teed him up with another burst from deep.
21 January 2018
The win means that Barca go 11 point clear of Atletico Madrid in second ahead of the crunch Catalan derby in the Cope del Rey against Espanyol this week. Betis, meanwhile drop to 11th.