Real Madrid 2 – 1 Real Betis: Three Takeaways from the Match

Real Madrid scraped away with 3 points after a hard-fought La Liga win against Real Betis in the Bernabéu. Madrid went down after an early Keylor Navas own goal, but then came back through goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos. Alex McVey gives his immediate reaction with three takeaways from the match.

1. Keylor Navas Was Bad, Until he Wasn’t.

It was, for the most part, an ugly night for the Costa Rican keeper. Navas has been coming under fire for poor performances this season, and for 90 minutes against Betis, this match was no exception.  He should have been sent off early on for coming out of his box, missing the ball, and clipping a Betis player to the ground. He seemed shaken from this incident, and it soon showed on the score line. Keylor allowed the first own goal of his career, and the first own goal by a keeper in La Liga this season by stopping a hard shot from Sanabria and then allowing the ball to dribble across the line.

It looked like Navas was going to be bailed out by Ronaldo and Ramos, but Navas was able to pay back the favor by making an excellent last-ditch save in the dying moments of extra time to keep Madrid up. Let’s hope that gives Navas a boost of confidence, because he really seems to need it.