Barcelona beat Betis despite surprising possession statistic

Barcelona are world famous for their love of possession but they won at Real Betis on Sunday despite having less of the ball.

Captain Lionel Messi scored a brilliant hat-trick to extend Barca's lead over nearest rivals Atletico Madrid to 10 points going into the international break.

Yet the reigning champions had to soak up pressure for much of the game at the Benito Villamarin, with Quique Setien's men showing plenty of care in possession.

Indeed, even though Messi's treble earned a 4-1 victory, Barcelona ended the game with only 43.9 per cent possession, the lowest Opta have recorded since collecting such data in 2004-05.

43.9% - This was the lowest possession figure that Barcelona have had in a single @LaLigaEN match since 2004/05 (43.9%). Punch. pic.twitter.com/NQTtp28ppJ

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 17, 2019