A cappella hymn, shirts with an old spirit and a Benito Villamarín with a lot of desire. One minute it took Betis to scare Atlético de Madrid.
Abner shot too cross after the ephemeral architecture of his team. Simeone came out with a withdrawn team, crowded behind, fighting the verdiblanco enthusiasm with patience and containment. The ball was owned by the locals. Borja Iglesias tried some unchecks. Isco asked for the ball and accelerated the game.
In the opposite field, the attempts to build by today’s albiazules died tame on the shores of the Rui Silva area. Only Griezmann tried to demonize the pace by going down to receive, signaling spaces to his teammates, looking for one on one.
In the 20th minute, Memphis scribbled into the area and was close to facing the goal, but Pezzella jumped in with seniority and determination and swiped the ball from the Dutchman’s boots. Ayoze responded a moment later, with a shot from outside the area that almost slipped through Oblak’s squad.
The game opened slowly, mushy, and the athletic corseting of the beginning was giving way to a certain risk, to a faint joy. The possession of the hosts did not translate into danger. Aitor Ruibal was somewhat stubborn, he did not get the dribbles or the associations.
The Panda had to leave the area to touch a ball. The game was encapsulated. Without shots on goal, with an inconsequential groping in midfield, some fans missed Koke, injured, and others missed Canales, in Mexico; two footballers capable of stirring up football. To give depth to the game. To unblock games like this, so self-absorbed and inappetent.
The yellow card for Ruibal on the brink of half-time, after an ugly stomp on Mario Hermoso from behind, was a symptom of his despair after a first half with more stubbornness than brilliance. Neither the corners disturbed the goalkeepers.
The party was confused on the verge of refreshment. An entry by Savic, penalized with a yellow card, heated up the atmosphere. In the absence of football, some clash and the pacification of De Burgos Bengoetxea.
ISCO, THE MOST ACTIVE
A cross from Isco, directly into the small area, was headed high by Ruibal. There were five minutes of extra time where Betis timidly pushed, recovering some balls in the mattress field, distant shots that did not hit the goal and a whistle that ended a few minutes with more intention than fruit, with more tedium than spark.
At the locker room exit, Pablo Barrios entered for Marcos Llorente. Simeone needed fluidity in his, contingency, control. Betis remained impassive. Trusting his attack to the flashes of Ayoze and the struggle of Iglesias. Parapeted with Marc Roca and Guido Rodríguez.
With a hopeful balance for yours. Atlético not only did not command, but began to look fragile, with losses in the temperate zones, with too much precipitation.
Soccer was getting tangled up. The absence of clear chances generated impotence and friction. The public was impatient. Manuel Pellegrini and Cholo Simeone, in the 60th minute, decided to definitively shake up the match.
William José by Borja Iglesias in the premises. Morata, Saúl and Lino inside from the visiting block. On the next play, after the round of substitutions, a header from Hermoso had a feline response from Rui Silva. It was the first stop by a goalkeeper in what was going on in the game.
After the hydration break, Ruibal and Isco stayed on the bench. Rodri and Cruz went out onto the field to regain possession. To wait with the ball at his feet for the foreseeable rush of Atlético de Madrid.
With ten minutes remaining, neither team was in a position to win. The shadow of the tie darkened the green cloak. Morata fought with the Verdiblancos central defenders and Rodri faced with self-confidence. no goldsmith. Nothing sharp. Just a tiring and heated football.
The zero to zero chiseled on the scoreboard. The centrals only enjoyed themselves after ninety minutes without fuss or ideas. Forwards at half mast. Orphaned by a goal, the teams left the pitch celebrating intimately a point that was more sweaty than deserved.