Features
Real Betis 1-3 Atletico Madrid: Player Ratings
Atletico de Madrid demonstrated a masterclass in counter-attacking football yet again this season. Los Rojiblancos overcame Real Betis in their own backyard, winning with a comfortable scoreline of 1-3. The score does not do Los Verdiblancos justice, as for large parts of the match, they dominated both the ball and chances.
With the victory, Atleti leapfrogged Betis and got into fourth place, level on points with Barcelona, who have played a game less.
In light of the defending La Liga champions’ victory last night, join Madrid Universal as we evaluate the performances of each individual in this episode of the Match Ratings.
Jan Oblak: 7.25
Oblak had a quite busy night against Real Betis. The Andalusians attacked him all throughout the game, and he had to come up with several saves to keep the hosts at bay. Despite the barrage of shots he faced, he dealt with almost all of them very comfortably.
Felipe: 7
The Brazilian had an engaged night in defence, and on several occasions, the likes of Cristian Tello and Borja Iglesias tested him. For the most part, he was defensively rigid, and almost got a goal of his own with his shot hitting the frame of the goal.
Jose Gimenez: 6.5
Gimenez was relatively passive for most of the match. He performed neither poorly nor exceptionally for his side, and his defensive contributions, while present, were nothing special.
Reinildo Mandava: 6.75
Despite a very slow start from the Mozambican, he picked up his form in the second half of the game. Fortunately for him, his flank was not attacked very much, and even when it was, he was on hand to deal with Los Beticos.
Sime Vrsaljko: 6
The Croat did not have much time to impose himself in the game and was one of two early forced substitutions for Atletico de Madrid.
Marcos Llorente: 8.25
Llorente rediscovered his form from the title-winning season, and capped off a sensational second-half performance with a glorious assist to Joao Felix. Bar his individual football, he succeeded in getting into his rivals’ heads, leading to them needlessly confronting him.
Hector Herrera: 6.5
Herrera had quite a mixed game. On some occasions, he displayed brilliance on the ball. On others, his lack of composure ended up costing the team. Atletico will expect better from him ahead of their tie against Cadiz on Friday.
Rodrigo de Paul: 7.25
Following quite a bland opening 45 minutes, de Paul redeemed himself in the second period. His tackles, key passes and interceptions were key to Atleti’s fight for all three points in the Benito Villamarin.
Renan Lodi: 5.5
The Brazilian was virtually absent from the game. His contributions amounted to very little, and as such he deservedly was substituted off at halftime.
Angel Correa: 7.5
The Argentine played only 27 minutes of football for Atletico, having to leave the pitch following a gruesome injury sustained in the quarter of a way through. Despite this, he had enough time, awareness and composure to assist Joao Felix in just the second minute of the game.
Joao Felix: 8.5
The Portuguese played perhaps his best football match of the season yet. He positioned himself brilliantly to open the scoring for Atleti and double their tally in the second half of the match. He oozed confidence, and if not from a brilliant save from Claudio Bravo, he could have had a hat trick.
SUBSTITUTES
Yannick Carrasco: 7.25
Carrasco came on as a forced substitution in the 21st minute for Vrsaljko. Upon entering the pitch, he proved a permanent menace for the Betis defence, and if not for some slight imprecision on his part, he could have ended the night with an assist.
Antoine Griezmann: 8
The Frenchman returned to the team’s dynamics by default following Correa’s injury. His performance on the night was reminiscent of his best self. The dribble leading up to his late assist to Thomas Lemar to end the tie was a work of absolute beauty on his part.
Thomas Lemar: 7
This was far from the busiest that Lemar has been in the red and white of Atletico de Madrid. Nevertheless, his instincts and composure helped him grab a late goal to secure all three points for his side.
Javier Serrano & Luis Suarez: N/A
The pair came on late, and as a result, it is not possible to give them a rating.
Real Madrid made a mess of their game against Elche last night, and it is clear that the men in white have several flaws with no answers at the moment.
From being 2-0 up, the men in white bottled their lead and threw the game into jeopardy by permitting Elche to score two goals. The result, as many saw it, was set to end in a draw.
With some persistent attacks in the dying minutes, however, Real Madrid managed to build pressure on Elche and eventually scored one more goal at the death to take home the three points.
Needless to say, however, the negatives from the game far outweigh the positive news of the three points.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Elche 2-3 Real Madrid.
Another second-half collapse
After Real Madrid’s win over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, Jose Mourinho stressed the fact that Real Madrid actually played only one half and that the fatigue began showing after the break.
On the night, the opposition began to enjoy more dominance and create chances after half-time as they outran and outpressed Los Blancos to good effect.
Last night was no different, and the second half went completely awry.
The men in white entered the half-time break cruising with a 2-0 lead and significant dominance over the proceedings. They had a massive xG, with Elche barely creating any chances of note.
After the break, however, the entire dynamic of the game changed as Real Madrid took a step back and handed the impetus to the hosts. Pressing high and attacking without fear, Elche dominated Real Madrid for most of the second half and had a staggering 60% of possession.
They scored twice – in the 71st and 83rd minutes – and equalised Real Madrid on the night. Given the visitors’ shambolic display, it was deserved for Elche.
At this point, the constant second-half collapses and fatigue struggles of the team after just 45 minutes of action must worry Jose Mourinho immensely. Heading into a derby away from home, Real Madrid have to do much better.
The away curse continues
While Real Madrid’s form at home has been imperious this season, their form away from home has been equally shocking.
They began their season with a last-minute win over Espanyol, and their second league game of the season on the road came against Real Betis and ended in defeat.
Heading into their third away game last night, there was an element of worry about how they would perform, and the trend continued once more.
Real Madrid did well to take the lead on the night, but they made the second half a massive war and far more difficult than it should have been.
At this point, serious questions have to be raised about Real Madrid’s form on the road and their inability to keep games under control when playing in away stadiums.
Heading forward in the season, Los Blancos have some massive away games coming up against far more difficult opposition. The Madrid derby is up next, and the team’s form is nothing promising heading into that fixture.
Carlos Espi saves the day… again!
Real Madrid are currently on 15 points after six games in the league, but Carlos Espi has directly contributed to a massive chunk of that.
If not for the new Spanish striker’s ability to come up clutch in big moments, Real Madrid could well have been on just 11 points at this stage in the season, and the four points he has added are absolutely crucial.
Against Espanyol, it was Espi who scored a stoppage-time winner to hand Real Madrid all three points after a complicated match. Last night, he repeated the same heroics once more.
With the team staring at a draw, the new signing was at the right place at the right time to bury Kylian Mbappe’s assist in stoppage time, handing Real Madrid all three points at the death.
He may not have played a large part on the night, but his cameo was again powerful and it is clear that he elevates the team’s attack and provides new solutions in front of goal. Espi has already proven his talent, and his ability to perform under pressure is what makes him special.
