Features
Three talking points ahead of Real Betis vs Real Madrid | La Liga
Real Madrid faced relegation-threatened Deportivo Alaves midweek in La Liga and took all three points to stay alive in the competition.
Days later, they now face a team that is seemingly set to qualify for European football once again. Now up against an opponent on the other end of the table, Los Blancos will face a slightly more uphill challenge.
Real Betis have not been perfect under Manuel Pellegrini, but they have managed to win 12 and draw 13 of their 32 league games this season.
The last time the two teams met, Real Madrid put five goals past Los Verdiblancos. Real Betis enter the game against Alvaro Arbeloa’s side with one win in six games, and it will be interesting to see how the battle plays out.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Betis vs Real Madrid.
The final long trip
While it is true that Real Madrid’s season has not been promising in any way, it is clear that they have struggled more away from home than playing at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Given the team’s performances, even the Bernabeu has been hostile to the men in white at times this season, but most of their big defeats this campaign have come on the road.
Their first defeat of the campaign was against Atletico Madrid on the road, and they then went on to lose to Liverpool, drop points against Rayo Vallecano, Elche, and Girona in a span of a month.
Later in the season, Los Blancos lost to Albacete away from home, to Benfica in Lisbon, and to Osasuna in Pamplona. Most recently, they lost to Mallorca and Bayern Munich in their two latest games on the road.
The clash against Real Betis tomorrow, once again, is away from home and will be held at Estadio de La Cartuja. More importantly, it marks the beginning of a run of three games on the road which will culminate in El Clasico at the Spotify Camp Nou.
How Real Madrid manage their results in this final long tour away from the Spanish capital, needless to say, will have a significant bearing on the title race.
Two more setbacks
Earlier today, Real Madrid confirmed hamstring injuries to two key stars, signalling that their season has come to an end which comes as a massive blow to Alvaro Arbeloa’s plans.
The first of the two players ruled out is Eder Militao who simply cannot catch a break with fitness setbacks at this point in his career.
Having just recently returned to the dynamics from a long-term blow, the Brazilian is now out until the end of the season and will not be available in central defence. Antonio Rudiger and Dean Huijsen, thus, are likely to start in the department.
The second and bigger blow is that of Arda Guler who also suffered a hamstring blow and is expected to remain out until the end of the campaign.
In the case of the Turkish star, however, the player has been a key part of the team all season and a regular starter. Replacing him, in that sense, is more complicated and it remains to be seen what midfield combination Arbeloa opts for.
All signs, as it stands, point to Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Thiago Piatarch, and Jude Bellingham starting on the night.
A glimmer of hope
Barcelona took all three points over Celta Vigo in the previous match, maintaining their nine-point lead at the top with just six games to go in La Liga.
In that sense, it appears quite complicated for Real Madrid to keep hopes of a comeback alive in the competition, especially given the form Hansi Flick’s side have been in domestically.
One event in their game against Celta Vigo, however, hands Los Blancos just a glimmer of hope for a miracle – the injury to Lamine Yamal.
Having suffered a hamstring blow himself, the Spaniard is out for the rest of the season and will not feature in any of Barcelona’s remaining games including El Clasico.
Not having their talisman and creator-in-chief against Real Madrid, Barcelona become a slightly easier target for Arbeloa’s side to defeat in the upcoming Clasico to cut short the deficit.
Concurrently, however, Yamal’s absence plays an equally important role in weakening Barcelona’s overall chances in the other five games in the season as well, especially given how important he has been to them all season.
With Raphinha and Yamal both likely to be unavailable for the next few games and the latter ruled out for the rest of the season, Barcelona become slightly more likely to drop points along the way.
Should Real Madrid keep winning, a turnaround may not be as far-fetched as it initially appeared.
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.
