Real Betis vs Real Madrid Review
Real Betis came from behind to defeat Real Madrid 2-1, marking only their second victory in the last 11 home encounters against Los Blancos in La Liga. Carlo Ancelotti’s team took the lead just 10 minutes into the match when a well-executed play ended with Kylian Mbappé passing the ball to Ferland Mendy, who selflessly set it up for Brahim Díaz to score. Real Madrid continued to dominate the game against their passive opponents, with Rodrygo nearly scoring by heading the ball onto the roof of the net, while the fans at Estadio Benito Villamarín quickly became frustrated with the decisions made by referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández.
Betis’ initial effort came in the 22nd minute with a long-range shot from Ricardo Rodriguez, followed by Marc Bartra sending a quick shot off target. Jesús Rodriguez then struggled to connect properly with a cross from Youssouf Sabaly. Nevertheless, Los Verdiblancos began to show more determination and were rewarded in the 34th minute when Johnny Cardoso scored with a powerful header from Isco’s cross, beating Thibaut Courtois despite the goalkeeper getting a hand on it. Just before halftime, Cardoso nearly scored again from a corner, but his header was deflected by Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Courtois made a fantastic save to tip it wide.
After the break, both Cardoso and Cucho Hernández had their shots blocked, while Bartra made a crucial stop against Mbappé. They were awarded a penalty when Isco set up Jesús, who was fouled by Antonio Rüdiger, allowing Isco to convert from the spot, even though Courtois guessed correctly. Shortly after coming on, Arda Güler had a shot blocked by Ricardo as the visitors sought to respond, but Los Verdiblancos continued to press, with Hernández’s attempt narrowly missing the target.
As time went on, the visitors increased their pressure, but Endrick missed the target, and Adrián saved a long-range shot from Vinícius Júnior. Betis secured all three points, marking their record with only one loss in the last nine La Liga games, moving up to sixth place for the time being. Meanwhile, Los Blancos fall behind Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, who climbed to first place after their win against Bilbao.
