After headbutting Lamine Yamal, the champion faces a lengthy suspension

What happened in the second half of the match between Betis and Barcelona was completely inexplicable: around the 53rd minute, Blaugrana star Fermín López took a hard hit and collapsed to the ground, but Betis goalkeeper Álvaro Valles thought it was just a time-wasting tactic.

Valles then approached Fermín, who was lying on the ground in pain, and tried to lift him up. At that point, Lamine Yamal stepped in and tried to push the opposing goalkeeper away, but Uruguayan Facundo Bernal joined the altercation and tackled Barcelona’s number 10.

The two had a very brief altercation, then Bernal headbutted Lamine Yamal, who fell to the ground covering his face. The referee, who was very close to the two players, had no choice but to send off the Betis player. Barcelona’s number 10 was also penalized: he received a yellow card.

The 19-year-old Spaniard is in tremendous form: in the 9 league games he’s played so far, he’s scored 8 goals and recorded 6 assists—incredible numbers, to which he adds his Champions League stats, where he’s tallied 1 goal and 4 assists in 2 appearances. Against Betis, he opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a spectacular goal into the top corner.

Thanks in part to Lamine Yamal’s contribution, Barcelona leads the league: in its first 9 games, the team has yet to draw or lose and has 27 points, 5 more than second-place Atlético Madrid. In the Champions League, they’ve won their first two matches and trail only Paris Saint-Germain on goal difference.