Manuel Pellegrini, the Betis coach who has still not beaten Atlético, and there are already 11 games, had stated the day before that the Madrid team seemed to him to be the best squad in the entire League. The alleged Atlético arsenal was not seen at the Benito Villamarín. Simeone’s men, who were beaten in the first half, later performed a tremendous exercise in impotence. Griezmann’s bad game was, without a doubt, the best example of Atlético’s football drought. It may have been due to the heat or it may have been due to casualties, but Atlético was a very coarse team at the Benito Villamarín. It earned Betis a 0-0 draw, as they also had many casualties and even still have unregistered players, in the case of Bartra or Bellerín. Without Fekir or William Carvalho, in addition to Luiz Henrique, getting four points in two clashes against Villarreal and Atlético is a good baggage.

0
Rui Silva, Sabaly, Luiz Felipe, Abner, Pezzella, Ayoze Perez (guard, 83 mins), Guido Rodriguez, Marc Roca, Aitor Ruibal (Juan Cruz, 72 mins), Isco (Rodri, 72 mins) and Borja Iglesias (Willian Joseph, 62 min.)
0

Oblak, Carrasco (Samuel Lino, min. 64), Mario Hermoso, Witsel, Azpilicueta, Savic, De Paul (Rodrigo Riquelme, min. 79), Lemar (Morata, min. 64), Marcos Llorente (Pablo Barrios Rivas, min. 45), Depay (Saúl, min. 63) and Griezmann
goals
Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea
Yellow cards Aitor Ruibal (min. 37), Savic (min. 42), Isco (min. 50) and Simeone (min. 53)
Simeone’s men must improve. His game was full of inaccuracies, with an absolute lack of rhythm. Only Barrios gave him some air in the second half. Very little for a contender for the title when it seemed that he had found the path of good play. He says very little about Atlético, and also a lot about Betis, that he was incapable of creating a clear chance of danger throughout a game that he played with little personality and, above all, without that talent that he is supposed to have.
“We have more peace of mind to play. We don’t have the ball, we need to have it, we’re giving it to them”, Simeone stated during the first hydration break, with Benito Villamarín, very festive, turned into a real sauna. Atlético, really, it’s not that they didn’t have the ball in a most discreet first half, it’s that they were a vulgar team without character. Betis was the owner of the game from the first minute and already in the second Abner was about to score. More concentrated and with one more gear, this Pellegrini Betis dominated almost all facets of the game, except the most important, that of the goal. Well secured by the double pivot Guido-Marc Roca, plus Isco’s touches, those of Pellegrini were superior.
The Verdiblanco team never burned the ball, while Atlético, too contemplative, limited themselves to defending themselves with a certain order. However, it is difficult to sink a tooth into Atlético despite its low production in attack. He has a job and Betis barely entered the rival area. The asset Ayoze did set a mark with a great shot from outside the area that brushed the top corner.
Atlético had nothing. Griezmann and Memphis, starting for Morata, did not smell it in a poor first half. Betis, better, did not score, with many eyes in the stands already on a Borja Iglesias who was too failing. However, this type of match had already been seen many times by Verdiblancos fans. Atlético, out of nowhere, had almost always had the ability to hit Betis on other occasions.
Atlético’s face lit up somewhat with the entry of Barrios. He is a quality footballer, with self-confidence, with that daring that makes him feel chosen. With Llorente out, Simeone’s team showed a better face, also taking advantage of the fatigue of Betis, less fresh than in the first half. However, the first occasion, as in almost the entire game, was for Betis. Ayoze launched from outside the area and the ball went wide again.
In the 65th minute the first option of the entire match came for Atlético. A shot from Hermoso, who had a good duel with Ruibal, was taken out with some trouble by Rui Silva. The final stretch of the crash was unbearable. Between the heat and the lack of spark from the footballers, the game was inaccurate and very stuck. Betis, who lost with the changes, no longer found the Atlético area so easily. Little by little he settled on the point. I really no longer had the strength or quality for anything else. He ended up with 10 players due to Abner’s injury and with Guardado on the left-handed side during the six minutes of discount. Betis endured and took the tie.
“Betis was better in the first half. The first half of ours was very bad. We improved a lot in the second half and we had some situations in attack. I’ll take that second half,” Simeone said at the end of the match. Betis and Atlético reach the third day with four of six points.
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