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La Liga champions Real Madrid hosted Copa del Rey winners Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu on Friday night in a goalless draw. The game started with a gesture of mutual respect from both sides as they gave each other a guard of honor for their respective domestic titles.
But the pleasantries ended as soon as the game kicked off with both teams going at it, as Real Betis took the game to Real Madrid. It was a very open first-half with chances falling to both sides, however no keeper really had anything significant to do with just routine saves.
Vinicius Jr. was lively as ever as Real Madrid created many attacks through the left-flank with Ferland Mendy also contributing. Much of Betis' build-up pay flew through Nabil Fekir. Carlo Ancelotti's side were stretched on occasions which allowed the visitors to play through them and go wide as well.
Casemiro was reckless on occasions in the first-half as he gave away possession cheaply, while also conceding a couple of fouls around the penalty box. There was a bit of a scare for Ancelotti as the Brazilian was moving a bit gingerly at one point.
Manuel Pellegrini's side failed to test Thibaut Courtois in the first-half, with Willian Jose taking a shot from outside the box that went wide of the post. Juanmi ran through on goal after being fed a great cross, but Eder Militao's recovery run prevented him from taking a shot.
Real Madrid legend Marcelo receives farewell from the Santiago Bernabeu
Carlo Ancelotti was quick to ring in the changes and brought Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde on for Casemiro and Kroos respectively in the second-half. The two got involved in attacking play frequently, with the French international picking a few clever forward passes.
Karim Benzema had a great chance to give his team the lead in the 51st minute as Carvajal whipped in a precise cross inside the box. The Real Madrid striker connected his volley sweetly but the ball went straight to Rui Silva in goal. The ball rebounded and Rodrygo attacked but could only slot it wide as he was under pressure from Marc Bartra.
There was clearly more urgency from Los Blancos to break the deadlock as they had more bite about them than Manuel Pellegrini's side. Carlo Ancelotti then brought on Isco and Marcelo for their farewell game. There was a late flurry of chances from both sides with the pick of the chance for Betis falling to veteran striker Joaquin.
However, he was off balance when a cross from Borja Iglesias arrived and pulled his shot over the goal. Vinicius kept getting the better of Betis right-back Youssouf Sabaly and combined with Benzema, but the Frenchman was clearly not wearing his shooting boots as he missed some good chances and the game ended 0-0.
Marcelo was teary-eyed after the final whistle as he was applauded by the whole stadium and his teammates. While the game was dull, Twitter certainly had some entertaining reactions.
