Barcelona perform guard of honour

Debate has been rife in Spain this past week as to whether Atletico Madrid should be obliged to perform a guard of honour for rivals Real Madrid after Los Blancos won LaLiga Santander, but Barcelona performed one on Saturday for their opponents Real Betis with little fuss.

The Verdiblancos won the Copa del Rey against Valencia, and the Blaugrana deemed it appropriate to congratulate them on their success ahead of their meeting at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.

Even coach Xavi Hernandez joined the guard of honour to praise Manuel Pellegrini's side.

"We have congratulated the Betis directors and their fans. We will perform a corridor [guard of honour] as befits the champions," Mateu Alemany told Movistar ahead of the game.