Real Madrid got a great win last night as the team prepares to send many players at their national teams. The international break starts as soon as Monday and this victory was very important to start this interruption period with the peace of mind. Everything was decided by the goal of Dani Carvajal in the second half after a nice team action that saw Vinicius and Benzema as protagonists as well.
Ancelotti claimed that the match against Betis would be a very difficult one and that executing the defensive maneuvers with as accuracy as possible would do the trick. It would be exactly a game with a few goals and with a high tension in the heads of the players. Those who would be more careful and would make the most out of the opportunities would take the victory. And the Italian coach was right! He prepared the team for this and the team left the pitch with three points.
Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid side showed no let-up in their third consecutive game on the road, picking up all three points at the Benito Villamarín ahead of the international break to make it two wins and a draw so far. Our team put on a fine second-half display, playing at a relentless pace which yielded just rewards when Dani Carvajal's beautiful volley found the back of the net with 60 minutes gone. A solid defensive effort, just as the Italian coach had asked of his charges, was enough to send the Whites provisionally top of the table.
The game was not very closed or without chances, but it certainly was not a very open game, at least not since the start despite the few good chances that took place. As the energy of both teams started to drain the game started to get more open, but Real Madrid seemed like the team that had more energy left and decided to go harder. In the second half the pace of the game changed and Real started to dominate.
The first half finished goalless, despite several chances inside the opening fifteen minutes. The first fell to the visitors when Vinicius Jr. stole the ball in the middle of the park and linked up with Benzema on 5’, before laying it back to the Frenchman who just failed to find the target. Real Madrid tried their luck again two minutes later but Militão's volley from a set-piece ended up in Rui Silva's gloves. Betis responded through a sweet Fekir free-kick but Courtois produced a sublime save to keep him out. The final dangerous move of the opening 45 minutes went the way of Ancelotti's men. Carvajal's cross-shot on 36’ nearly caught the hosts' goalkeeper out but he reacted well to turn it behind for a corner.
The second half saw a real change of pace imposed by Real Madrid, pressing high up and pegging Betis back in their own half. The reward the team's efforts merited did arrive right on the hour mark, and it was quite some strike. Benzema crossed to the back stick, where Carvajal popped up to open the scoring with a sweetly-struck volley with the inside of his right foot. The hosts then stepped it up in search of the equaliser and Ancelotti opted for a double change six minutes later, sending on Asensio and Lucas Vázquez in place of Bale and Isco. The Balearic Islands-born forward had a good chance to double the lead with 73 minutes gone when he won the ball back in opposition territory and drove forward to the edge of the box, where he unleashed a fine drive which flew just wide of the mark. In the remaining minutes Real tried to manage the advantage and relied more on counter attacks. Betis had a few good chances and finished the game attacking the goal defended by Courtois but it wasn’t enough. Real Madrid defended well and even when some mistakes were made, Ancelotti’s boys hurried to cover one another keeping the result unchanged.
The clean sheet was really an important achievement in this match. Betis is a great team and when they score it becomes extremely difficult to change the flow of the game. Just as Ancelotti had called for in the pre-match press conference, his players barely allowed the hosts a sniff, going on to keep a clean sheet for the first time this campaign. Football now heads into the international break and LaLiga will return at home against Celta on Saturday, 11 September at 4:15pm CEST.
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