Real Madrid vs. Betis: 3 takeaways from another poor result

An overall lack of threat and urgency

Real Madrid didn’t seem to want to win this game in the first half. They played very slowly and seemed to be content with letting Real Betis keep the ball and build out of the back. Real played a very nonchalant press. Even when Rodrygo won the ball twice, he won it in midfield and would often drop deeper than Dani Carvajal to recover the ball, including in midfield positions.

Therefore, Real were both too deep defensively and too narrow when attacking. There was very little width in their play until they brought in Marcelo and shifted to using wing backs with the Brazilian and Alvaro Odriozola. But by then, it was too late for Real to really do anything.

Betis had too much time and space to counter, and if Nabil Fekir were available in this game, Real Madrid would have dropped more than two points. Zinedine Zidane cannot be blamed for this loss, since he was working with less than ideal personnel.

But I do think he could have done better in this game with his gameplan. For example, being more aggressive off the ball and finding ways to help Asensio and Rodrygo benefit from an asymmetric formation with Dani Carvajal flying up the pitch and Nacho staying back.

Real did not seem to push for a victory until the final 10 minutes. Again, it was too late by then, and Betis had no issues sitting back and absorbing pressure from a Real side that did not have many ideas.