Real Madrid arrived at home under a cloud of anguish, seven points behind Barcelona, after two unexpected, poorly played losses, with a worrying break of almost two weeks looming and with their most lustrous player immersed in a formidable block. Kylian Mbappé had taken 17 shots in La Liga and had not found the net. And so it continued against Betis. He tried and tried: another seven times, five of them blocked. It was desperate. Until it wasn’t anymore. Fede Valverde wrapped up a gift for him in a stroke of genius, a backheel in the area, and Mbappé scored with his 25th shot, and then with his 26th, a penalty that Vinicius suffered and the Frenchman converted. That’s how the uncorking works: suddenly the liquor spills. He relieved himself and relieved Madrid, who enter the international transfer window a little closer to Barça, but above all after having gained solidity and continuity. And having rescued Mbappé from his melancholic frustration.
2
Thibaut Courtois, Ferland Mendy (Fran García, min. 64), Éder Militão, Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Federico Valverde, Dani Ceballos (Brahim Díaz, min. 64), Kylian Mbappé (Luka Modric, min. 83) , Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo (Endrick, min. 88)
0
Rui Silva, Romain Perraud, Natan, Diego Llorente, Youssouf Sabaly, Pablo Fornals (Iker Losada, min. 82), Marc Roca, Rodri (Assane Diao, min. 71), Abde Ezzalzouli (Juanmi, min. 82), William Carvalho (Johnny Cardoso, min. 56) and Aitor Ruibal (Vitor Roque, min. 56)
Goals
1-0 min. 66: Kylian Mbappe. 2-0 min. 74: Kylian Mbappe
Referee Javier Alberola Rojas
Vinicius Junior (min. 58), Dani Carvajal (min. 64)
To unblock the situation, Ancelotti chose Dani Ceballos, who until a few hours earlier had tried to appear at the Bernabéu in the opposing team. The Italian preferred him to Güler, Brahim and Modric, and placed him next to Valverde and Tchouameni, slightly more on the left, the wing where it is intuited that the core can happen, the territory of Vinicius and Mbappé. The Utrera native expressed himself with intensity. He went out to look for the ball to try to direct the operations. He chased it when Betis had it and when Madrid had it: he indicated the path that the play should follow while looking for where to position himself to receive and start to sew the game together. Then he was quick, without the arabesques in which he sometimes gets tangled up. The team had to go forward and his mission was to push it. He applied himself without pause.
The tension in Madrid had risen. They were closer together, as Ancelotti wanted, and they recovered more forward. Valverde and Tchouameni swept the central zone with authority, with the Uruguayan’s usual expansive display and the Frenchman’s very alert work. It was a less contemplative Tchouameni, less parsimonious in his handling of the ball.
Everyone seemed willing to fill the gaps that had been pointed out to them, the root of the disappointments. Even those up front. Vinicius and Mbappé looked for each other like in the first minutes of the first day, with that enthusiasm of the beginnings. The rise in speed helped them find more space when the ball came to them. They also dealt with it with more joy. The Brazilian led, and when he advanced you could already guess that at the end of it the Frenchman would appear. And yes. There he appeared. But there is still a bit of thickness moving. He shot and shot. And nothing. There was always a defender there. He didn’t score and his choices revealed a certain anxiety.
Betis found their way through William Carvalho and Marc Roca, who controlled the centre. And above all with the threat of Abde on the left, who maintained a fiery duel with Carvajal, who maintained the extraordinary level of last season. He deactivated Abde’s electricity with wisdom and authority.
Madrid looked more solid, more consistent, but they couldn’t find their way to goal. Mbappé repeatedly found himself blocked by chance. Militão came closest when he headed in a corner that was saved by Rui Silva. Or Valverde with his long-range shots. Or Vinicius, who hit the post after a slight rebound. The end of that attempt seemed to reveal a curse on Mbappé. The rebound fell to him and he sent it over the crossbar into an empty goal. It’s true that he was offside, but it seemed like he was destined for an endless search for the goal. Without reward.
Pellegrini dared to explore something else and brought Vitor Roque in for Ruibal, the winger who was sometimes playing as a striker due to the shortage of players. The Barça player headed the ball into Courtois’ hands as soon as he came on. The ball was Madrid’s, but Betis had not given up. He tried to run as soon as he recovered the ball, but Militão and Rüdiger calmed down the adventures with an imposing hierarchy. The German is still where he left off last season. The Brazilian is more comfortable in open fields than face to face with dribblers. He was in the right situation.
To push forward the search, Ancelotti brought on Fran García and Brahim for Mendy and Ceballos. And they continued to attack Rui Silva’s area. Until Valverde, who continues to grow, gave a dazzling display. He back-heeled with his left foot inside the area, Mbappé found himself alone in front of the goalkeeper and then, finally, he popped the cork out of the bottle. The relief was tremendous.
With that ease, Brahim found Vinicius on the run, who fell when he crossed paths with Rui Silva. The referee, in dispute with the Brazilian, ordered the game to continue, but the VAR had seen something else. He awarded the penalty to Mbappé, who was right again, giving him more breathing room after the anguish at the start of the season.
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