Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium was the place where Real Madrid got a visit from Real Betis in the Spanish La Liga on Saturday.
Amid a tough week due to their president’s exploits, Real Madrid had some extra added pressure on their match against Real Betis today. At this stage of the season, any of the four clubs fighting for the title could lose their shot if they dropped points once. With this in mind, Real Madrid simply couldn’t afford even a draw from now until the end of the season. Real Betis performed at a very high level throughout the 90 minutes against Los Blancos.
Players like Guido Rodriguez, Sergio Canales, Andres Guardado, and Diego Lainez were an absolute headache for the Real defensive line. The only man who could stop them was Thibaut Courtois, who made a couple of proper saves that prevented his side from losing the match. Zidane trusted players like Isco or Rodrygo from the start but they didn’t respond to the challenge. He took both of them off during the second half.
Hazard isn’t match-ready yet.
One of the most interesting moments of the game was when Eden Hazard came on the pitch with less than 20 minutes left on the clock. The Belgian forward has been under heavy criticism due to his repetitive muscular injuries. Today, he returned from another one with the hope he could finish the game after coming on the pitch. From the first minute he played, Hazard attempted to find the back of the net but he doesn’t seem match-ready yet.
It might be too soon to use him during the Champions League semifinal against Chelsea. However, Zidane needs the best players he can get for that game because the rest of the season depends on it. Real Madrid finished the game with a draw and dropped two golden points that might’ve sent them out of the race for La Liga. Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out.
Player ratings
Real Madrid: Courtois (7), Nacho (7), Varane (7), Militao (7), Carvajal (7), Casemiro (8), Modric (7), Isco (6), Asensio (6), Rodrygo (5), Benzema (6).
Bench: Vinicius (5), Odriozola (6), Marcelo (6), Hazard (5), Blanco (6).
Real Betis: Bravo (6), Ruiz (7), Mandi (7), Miranda (6), Emerson (6), Guardado (6), Guido (6), Joaquin (6), Canales (7), Lainez (6), Iglesias (7).
Bench: Ruibal (6), Loren (6), Juanmi (5), Carvalho (6).
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