With Barcelona losing against Levante, this was a chance for Real Madrid to go top table but they blew their opportunity with a lackluster performance against a resilient and well drilled Betis side.
Zinedine Zidane made few changes to the side that started in the 5-0 thrashing of Leganese in midweek. Thubiat Courtois continued in between the sticks. Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane continued their central defensive partnership. Dani Carvajal retained his spot at right back while Ferland Mendy came in place of Marcelo at left back.
Luka Modric came into the line up to replace Fede Valverde in midfield with a three man midfield partnership with Toni Kroos and Casemiro.
The attack remained the same with Eden Hazard, Rodrygo Silva flanking Karim Benzema.
Real Madrid started the much better team. Pressing high up the pitch and breaking any sought of build up play Real Betis tried to conjure. With time, the Betis men showed class and confidence as they broke away from Real Madrid’s press time and time again. Real Betis showed solidity in defense as Batra especially stood in the centre of the defense and marshaled any player in white that dared fall into the area.
It wasn’t long that Real Madrid had the ball in the net through Eden Hazard but it was ruled out for offside. The first half continued much in favor of Real Madrid but whenever they managed to cross the Betis defense, a rock solid goal keeper was standing in between the sticks.
The match continued with Real Madrid bossing possession with little end product for much part of the match but there were moments Betis showed brilliance in their build up play. Had it not been for the cohesive organization of the Real Madrid defense, the whites would have been on the negative side of the score line at the end of the 90 minutes.
Conclusion
This is a score line that should satisfy the Betis team for their hard work but one that should remind Real Madrid there is still much work to be done offensively. The Whites struggled to create a clear opening sometimes and were over reliant on wing plays. The moments when wing plays should have produced something effective, the player on the wing either misplaces his pass or makes a terrible judgement.
There are so many positives as are negative to take from this match but one thing is certain, Real Madrid bottled up another opportunity to go ahead of Barcelona in the league table and Zidane has got a lot of questions to ask himself concerning the lineup he produced and the substitutions he made.
Thank You for Reading
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