To continue their undefeated start to the La Liga season, Real Madrid defeated Real Betis 2-1 Thursday afternoon in the renovated Santiago Bernabeu.
With the division’s last two undefeated teams facing off in the nation’s capital, something had to give. The champions were able to keep their perfect record thanks to goals from Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.
Betis evened things up in the first half before falling to Rodrygo’s winner, showing they will once again be battling for a Champions League position this season.
Nine minutes in, Madrid seized the lead when Vinicius was set up by David Alaba and calmly chipped the ball over Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva.
Eight minutes later, Betis equalized when former Real Madrid player Canales, set up by Borja Iglesias, sent a low effort past Thibaut Courtois.
However, Madrid swiftly regained control of the match after the equalizer, as Vinicius missed a blazing opportunity and Aurelien Tchouameni was denied by Silva.
While Karim Benzema’s early second-half attempt to slide the ball home from close range was denied by a timely clearance from Luiz Felipe, Madrid did earn back the lead just after the hour mark.
As a substitute, Federico Valverde had an immediate impact by setting up the game-winning goal by passing the ball to Rodrygo, who scored with his first touch.
In an effort to put the game away, Madrid’s Rodrygo also hit the post, but the champions were able to extend their unbeaten start to the season to four games.
Leave a Reply