Realmadrid News

Real Madrid 1-1 Betis: Betis go through to the quarterfinals

Tonight's Last 16 match of the King's Cup saw a very early goal in the opening minutes. As in last week's first leg match in Seville, Fabio Cannavaro didn't feature as a starter, while youth system player Torres was chosen by Fabio Capello to play on the right wing once again thanks to his great performances in the Whites' recent matches. Ramos and Helguera started as centre backs, while the rest of the line-up remained the same as of late. Betis coach Luis Fernández revolutionised his team by making many changes in the line-up. He played a very different team to that which lost against Osasuna in the weekend, hoping for a drastic change.

Dominating start
Real Madrid stepped onto the pitch with the same attitude that earned them a victory over Zaragoza: determined to win the match. Last weekend's victory was the stepping stone in a change of attitude of the Whites, who now look for greater ball movement and more pressure in their games. Real Madrid's first important attacking play tonight consisted of a triangulation of passes between Gago, Reyes and Higuaín that ended in a corner kick against Betis that Robinho netted thanks to a slight deflection by Ribera in the 4-minute mark. Keeper Doblas was powerless to stop the Brazilian forward's powerful shot. Real Madrid were 1-0 up and in the quarterfinals.


Nevertheless, Betis knew that, in order to go through to the next round, all they needed was an equalizer, so they started putting on a lot of pressure on the Whites. Diego López was forced to save the day on a couple of occasions. On one of these, he was well put to the test by Dani with a powerful shot. Betis kept charging down the right wing and gradually making their way deeper and deeper into Real Madrid's box. The Whites never ceased playing a very vertical game through Reyes, Robinho and Gonzalo Higuaín, who never ceased to assist his teammates and to look for the ball in the attacking front. In 14', after a great run, Reyes saw Higuaín was in achres of space and crossed the ball to him, but the Argentine striker failed to beat Doblas by an inch.

Betis quietly waited for their chance while Real Madrid dominated the match. Robinho and Van Nistelrooy kept pressuring the visiting side with several chances on goal. Robinho kicked a cross from Torres over the cross-bar, while the Dutch striker nearly scored an inadvertent goal off a Betis clearance. Controversy soon appeared when a clear penalty over Robinho wasn't allowed by the referee in the 21-minute mark. Despite trying hard, Real Madrid kept failing to score an essential goal that would keep them in the clear if Betis were to score the equalizer, which they eventually did. Melli hit a dangerous ball from a free kick that was followed by a lovely triangulation.
Dani put the finishing touch to the play with a winning header in 37'. The well-earned draw put Betis in the quarterfinals.


Right before half-time, Real Madrid put on a fierce attack and Sergio Ramos scored a goal that was subsequently disallowed for being offside. Fabio Capello made some changes at the start of the second half, replacing Raúl Bravo with Fabio Cannavaro. The Italian defender took his poisition as centre back with Helguera, while Sergio Ramos switched flanks with Torres. This shift in the defense looked for more efficiency down the wings, with Ramos and Torres aiding Reyes and Robinho in the attack.

Total harassment
Real Madrid showed their fiercer side and dominated the match looking to score a goal with all their might. Ramos' thrust and professional pride both in the attack and the defense energised both his team and the Bernabéu crowd, whose roars and cheers saw the Whites creating several chances on goal. Gago orchestrated Real Madrid's football and proved instrumental in their performance. In the 59-minute mark, Robinho put the finishing touch to a pass by Ramos, but his shot was too soft. Real Madrid then sieged Betis' goal for five minutes: Gago missed a shot by inches and Ramos had two clear chances on goal, the first of which came from a cross by Robinho to the far post that the defender failed to head in by an inch, while the second also consisted of a header that Doblas managed to save.


Real Madrid's anxiety increased by the minute and their attacks gradually became less and less precise: Robinho cut the ball into the box, but was stopped by Doblas; Helguera scored a disallowed offside goal in the last few minutes of the game; and De la Red and Robinho failed to net the ball in two clear chances. All in all, Real Madrid were unlucky tonight and weren't able to snatch a well deserved victory.


Report by Luis Navarro
Photography by Daniel Sastre
Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 1:21 PM