Torres hat trick in Barcelona rout of Betis in La Liga

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ferran Torres scored a hat trick, Lamine Yamal converted a penalty and Roony Bardghji shone in a rare start as Barcelona roared back to win at Real Betis 5-3 in La Liga on Saturday.

Barcelona’s rout of fifth-placed Betis in Seville increased its lead to four points over Real Madrid before it hosts Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Torres has grown from a bench player to become Hansi Flick’s most used striker. The Spain forward has more starts than Robert Lewandowski, who at 37 is seeing his playing time reduced.

Torres leads Barcelona in scoring with 13 goals across all competitions. He has 11 in La Liga through 15 rounds, surpassing his 10 in the league all last season. Only Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé with 16 has more goals in the domestic league in this campaign.

“I already knew that I could be a starter here in Barcelona and fight for this spot,” Torres said. “Now we have to go for more. The most important thing was our ability to respond to their early goal.”

It was a fourth career hat trick for Torres, who also bagged three goals at Betis in a 4-2 win last year.

Bardghji impressed in his third start since the 20-year-old Sweden winger joined Barcelona from Copenhagen in the summer. His dribbling was electric, and he provided a cross for Torres to score the go-ahead goal before he made it 3-1 with a powerful strike from just inside the area.

Lewandowski and Raphinha never left the bench for Barcelona. That will leave both rested for when Barcelona hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Anthony put Betis ahead in the sixth minute at Benito Villamarin Stadium. But Barcelona hit right back through Torres.

Torres slipped behind the defensive line to tap in a squared pass from Jules Koundé.

Torres scored again two minutes later when he acrobatically volleyed a cross from Bardghji between the legs of goalkeeper Álvaro Vallés. After Bardghji scored in the 31st for 3-1, Torres made it a treble in the 40th when his shot from outside the area took a deflection off a defender and wrong-footed Vallés.

The game featured a tactical novelty for Barcelona: Yamal spent most of the match playing in an interior, creative midfield role rather than on the right wing.

Yamal remained in sync with his teammates, participating in the passing move that led to Torres’ first goal. He converted the penalty in the 59th for Barcelona's fifth after a shot by Marcus Rashford hit the raised arm of Marc Bartra.

Betis eased the pain with late goals by Diego Llorente and Cucho Hernández's penalty after Koundé fouled Abde in the box.

Rashford had a golden chance to make it six for Barcelona on a solo break only to drag his shot wide with only Vallés to beat.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis was flying high coming into the game having beaten fierce city rival Sevilla in the previous round and was unbeaten in eight games overall. Betis will be overtaken by Espanyol on Sunday if it gets a draw with Rayo Vallecano.

Fermín López returned as a second-half substitute after the Barcelona midfielder missed two games with a leg injury.

Tajon Buchanan and Georges Mikautadze scored to help Villarreal beat Getafe 2-0 and stay in third place, one point behind Madrid.

Alaves upset Real Sociedad 1-0 in a Basque Country regional derby.

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Betis' Antony celebrates after scoring the opening goal of the game during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Betis and Barcelona in Seville, Spain, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Phot/Manu Reino)

Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates after scoring his side second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Betis and Barcelona in Seville, Spain, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Phot/Manu Reino)

Barcelona's Roony Bardghji celebrates after scoring his sides third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Betis and Barcelona in Seville, Spain, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Phot/Manu Reino)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates after scoring his sides 5th goal from the penalty spot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Betis and Barcelona in Seville, Spain, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Phot/Manu Reino)

Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates after scoring his side 4th goal and his third goal of the game during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Betis and Barcelona in Seville, Spain, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Phot/Manu Reino)

BERLIN (AP) — Harry Kane was substituted in at the hour mark and still had enough time to score a hat trick on Saturday.

The England captain took his goal tally for Bayern Munich this season to 28 and the defending champions maintained their eight-point lead over second-placed Leipzig with a 5-0 thrashing of Stuttgart on the road.

With Kane on the bench, Konrad Laimer took on the scoring duties and produced a superb finish. The Austria midfielder collected a long ball and combined with Michael Olise before slotting home from close range with a subtle backheel past goalkeeper Alexander Nübel in the 11th minute.

Kane made it 2-0 with a low shot into the bottom corner and Josip Stanišić added his name to the scoresheet. Kane added further luster to the win from the penalty spot after Stuttgart was reduced to 10 men for Lorenz Assignon using his arm to clear a ball in the 81st.

Kane completed the rout with a flick from an Olise cross with two minutes left. It was his 10th Bundesliga hat trick according to the league.

“It's been a while, it's nice to get another one," Kane said after being voted man of the match. “Big three points. We keep going.”

Kane has found the net five more times with England this season, taking his total to 33 goals for club and country.

Stuttgart had chances before halftime but lacked a cutting edge. Midfielder Nikolas Nartey thought he equalized only for his goal to be ruled out for offside after a VAR check.

Bayern Munich is unbeaten in 16 league and cup games against German opposition this season.

Leipzig demolished Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0 as 19-year-old Yan Diomandé produced a hat trick of his own.

Renowned for his stunning dribbling skills, the Ivory Coast winger has reportedly been approached by some of Europe's biggest clubs. He received an ovation when he was replaced in the 87th minute by Samba Konaté.

It was a clinical night for Leipzig with six goals from seven shots on target.

Conrad Harder, Christoph Baumgartner and David Raum also scored.

Bayer Leverkusen suffered a fourth loss, 2-0 at Augsburg.

Defender Dimitrios Giannoulis put the host in front after six minutes then turned provider to set up forward Anton Kade. Leverkusen, which hit the woodwork, remained in fourth place, 14 points behind Bayern.

Wolfsburg scored from all of its shots on target and moved four points clear of the relegation zone after beating Union Berlin 3-1. Heidenheim defeated Freiburg 2-1. Cologne and St. Pauli drew 1-1.

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Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

Munich's Harry Kane, left, celebrates with his teammate Luis Diaz, right, after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern Munich in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's Robert Andrich, right, pushes team mate Nathan Tella besides Augsburg's Kristijan Jakic during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Bayer Leverkusen in Augsburg, Germany, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Leverkusen's Patrik Schick misses to score during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Bayer Leverkusen in Augsburg, Germany, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Munich's Michael Olise, right, and Stuttgart's Maximilian Mittelstaedt, left, challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern Munich in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern Munich in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)