3️⃣ points as Real Madrid hand advantage to Barça with Betis defeat | OneFootball

Real Madrid slipped two points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona as they went down 2-1 away at Real Betis.

Goals from Sidnei and Cristian Tello were enough to down Los Blancos on a night when Zinedine Zidane’s side were left hopelessly exposed all over the pitch

Where to start?

It’s difficult to pinpoint just where Real Madrid went wrong here this evening, mainly because there were so many issues all over the pitch.

For a side that have made a habit of keeping clean sheets this season the backline were shaky and out of position from minute one.

The midfield lacked any sort of tempo, with the three of Caemiro, Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos looking like exactly what they are – a trio that are past their sell-by dates.

Up top, Karim Benzema – a bastion of consistency this term – had one of his worst games in years while Vinicius Jr and Lucas Vazquez ran around like headless chickens.

Zinedine Zidane’s side slipped two points behind leaders Barcelona, but frankly, it’s astonishing it’s even that close.

Consistent as ever

And so the run continues.

Real Betis have scored in every LaLiga game at Benito Villlamarín since October 2018, and they weren’t about to let their 27-match streak end here.

Real Madrid have the meanest defence in Spain, conceding just 17 goals in their 27 matches so far, but Betis are nothing if not thrilling going forward and took the lead thanks to Sidnei’s outrageous strike on 40 minutes.

It really should have been more before that point though, with the Verdiblancos missing a number of golden opportunities through a mixture of poor finishing and properly world class goalkeeping.

Which brings us to….

Shot-stopping show-stopper

Take a bow Thibaut Courtouis.

It’s taken a while now, but we think it’s finally fair to say that the Belgian shot-stopper has earned his spurs at Real Madrid.

Many were questioning the club’s rationale to get rid of Keylor Navas and sign the Chelsea number one back in 2018.

And those questions seemed valid for almost the entirety of last term with his performances stuttering, his confidence collapsing and mistakes creeping in.

This season though, Courtois has been in the form of his life and tonight in Andalusia was his crowning glory.

This was a shot-stopper at his absolute best, producing save after world class save, keeping his side in the game.

His heroics weren’t enough to tip the scales in Madrid’s advantage, but he should be pleased with a job well done.