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La Liga Santander's 2018/19 season kicked off with Video Assistant Referee being introduced for the first time in the league. The opening Matchday kicked off with two action-packed games.
The first match of the season started with promoted side Real Valladolid travelling to the Montilivi to face Girona. The Catalan outfit had a dream season last year under Coach Pablo Machin and finished 10th in the league. The game did not open up during the entire course of 90 minutes as it ended in a stalemate.
For many, this result was a disappointing one, because for them this should have been an easy win considering their performances during the last season. The change in their manager has not really helped them.
The second game of the night was a big shocker, as Real Betis got humiliated with a 3-0 loss to Levante at Estadio Benito Villamarin. Betis are known for their attacking football under Coach Quique Setien. They finished sixth last season and automatically qualified for the Europa League's Group Stages.
Last season was a memorable one for the team from Seville, as they welcomed new players including Marc Bartra and Club Captain Andreas Guardado which revolutionised the Los Verdi Blancos.
This transfer window, however, saw many important players leave the club, including midfielder Fabian Ruiz and left-back Riza Durmisi, who left to join Italian sides Napoli and Lazio respectively.
Real Betis' Signings during this seasons transfer market were as follows:
William Carvalho from Sporting Lisbon (£ 23m)
Sergi Canales from Real Sociedad (free)
Pau Lopez(GK) from Espanyol (free)
Takashi Inui from Eibar (free)
Joel Robles(GK) from Everton (free)
Antonio Barragan from Boro (£ 900k)
Carvalho, Canales, and Pau Lopez started the game and the rest of the three had to be satisfied to remain on the bench.
Betis started the game with an early chance for Ryad Boudebouz whose effort was too high to trouble the visiting keeper Oier.
Junior and Moron also tested Oier, with powerful efforts but the goalkeeper was on hand to keep their shots away from the goal.
Levante's opening chance came from the left flank when full-back Tono Garcia whipped a delicious cross in the path of Roger. Unfortunately for them, Betis' defence was alert and Moroccan defender Zouhar Feddal cleared the ball before Roger could get to it.
Levante started to test Betis' patience and kept the pressure on them, finally getting their reward when Jason skipped past a Betis player in the box to roll the ball to the back post. The fall fell in the path of Roger Marti who did not make any mistake this time and fired in a shot, putting the visitors into the lead.
Betis looked desperate to get an equaliser and tried everything to beat the Levante back four and the Goalkeeper Oier who were having the time of their life.
Levante fans were left praying for the half-time whistle to blow.
Half Time: Betis 0-1 Levante
In the second half, Levante increased their lead in the 57th minute as Captain Jose Luis Morales ran almost 50 yards and skipped past 3-4 Betis players to place the ball with the outside of his right foot into the bottom right corner of Pau Lopez's goal.
Betis made some changes as they brought in Takashi Inui and Antonio Sanabria. Inui immediately tested the GK with a shot from outside the box which Oier saved fantastically.
Canales almost got one back, but Oier was alert and managed to get his fingers on the ball to push it over the bar. He was in action again and next time denied a header from Antonio Sanabria who was at Levante last season on loan from Betis.
Levante got their third goal in the final minute as Raphael's cross was bundled home by Jose Luis Morales who later got the Man of the Match award for his two goals.
This was Morales's 100th game in the Top Flight and there could not have been a better way to celebrate it. The 31-year-old scored 10 goals last season and was the top scorer of the club. He started 35 games more than any other player in the division.
For Levante, this was a huge result and they can look on it as an extra source of motivation if they want to push their season in the right way. Their next game is at home against Celta de Vigo while Betis visit Alaves.
