Betis and Girona drew in a fairly even match, with chances for both sides and played in a real cauldron. Two good teams that are forming and where the difference was in the dugouts. More in the contribution of the substitutions. Pellegrini opted for attacking players like Abde and Rodri when he was winning 1-0 and did not reinforce his midfield. Míchel pulled out of his sleeve the quality of a footballer like Almena and the strength and goal of Misehouy. That was where Girona’s draw was forged, a team with excellent ball control, with a well-learned system and a lot of accumulated experience. Betis, better in the first half, needs a striker like food. Girona took the ball from them and earned the draw in a meritorious way.
1
Rui Silva, Youssouf Sabaly, Romain Perraud, Diego Llorente, Marc Bartra, Marc Roca (Sergi Altimira, min. 76), Nabil Fekir, William Carvalho (Johnny Cardoso, min. 76), Juanmi (Abde Ezzalzouli, min. 58), Pablo Fornals (Rodri, min. 58) and Aitor Ruibal (Chimy Ávila, min. 69)
1
Paulo Gazzaniga, David López, Miguel Gutiérrez, Arnau Martínez, Daley Blind, Oriol Romeu (Jhon Solís, min. 65), Iván Martín, Yangel Herrera (Gabriel Misehouy, min. 70), Bryan Gil (Cristhian Stuani, min. 80) , Abel Ruiz (Ladislav Krejcí, min. 80) and Portu (Iker Almena, min. 65)
Goals
1-0 min. 5: Bartra. 1-1 min. 71: Gabriel Misehouy
Referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias
Romain Perraud (min. 82), Aitor Ruibal (min. 85)
The Villamarín was a 35-degree oven when Bartra rose to the top in the fifth minute to make it 1-0. A good corner from Fekir and a blunder by Girona’s defence rewarded a Betis side that came out with an extra gear against their Catalan rival, in the Champions League, but still in full construction. Full of automatisms that remind us of last year’s great team, although without the decisive quality of those absent. While crying over those absences, and in the face of so much heat, Girona overcame its worrying start. It did so because it was crazy for Betis to withstand such unleashed pressure for so many minutes and also because it has players of great quality and weight, such as Iván Martínez and Herrera. But Gil is not Savinho or Abel Ruiz, Dovbyk, at least for the moment. Betis, withdrawn, with little ball and dangerous on the counterattack, had the 2-0 in a good play in attack in which Gazzaniga frustrated Aitor Ruibal. If there is no striker after the departures of Borja and Willian José, Pellegrini has concocted the line-up of Ruibal as striker. These are the ways of the Chilean, impeccable on the Betis bench.
Girona dominated and played, but barely got there. And even with some loss of Oriol Romeu, Betis reached the Catalan area with speed. Míchel was desperate on the wing. His Girona did not have the same edge as last season.
The Andalusian team’s spirit of resistance softened as the minutes passed. Girona had a lot of possession. All they needed was the finesse to get the equaliser, which they deserved for their football. Abel Ruiz had a chance, but his shot hit the post. It was the changes that changed the face of the match. Pellegrini brought Abde and Rodri onto the field, while Míchel took a chance with unknown players like Almena and Misehouy. Both of them created a great goal for Girona to equalise. And they did so with justice. Almena’s great play, which brought out the debutant Perraud, allowed Misehouy to finish with a clear advantage. Pellegrini refreshed his midfield late. When he did, Betis gained strength and Ávila had a clear chance. His shot hit the crossbar.
The game became a beautiful spectacle in the final stretch. Betis came close to making it 2-1 with two moves by Jhonny, who was erratic in his finishing. Gazzaniga also saved a good shot by Rodri. But the feeling that floated in a nearly full Villamarín was that Girona was getting there better and creating more danger.
With the clash in frenzy and the crowd cheering for a 2-1, either team could have won the match. Betis needs more bite up front and Girona showed that the essence of its greatness is still intact. What players like Gil or Abel could not offer was shown by Almena, Solís and Misehouy. The Catalan team has a great challenge ahead of them with the Champions League and a multitude of matches. They have excellent automatisms although they lack some quality. Míchel continues to be their best exponent, a guarantee of continuity.
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