Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis: 3 Talking Points

Real Madrid defeated Leganes with a comprehensive 5-0 home victory last time out in the league, but anyone who was expecting a repeat performance got a rude shock as they put up a listless display in a goalless stalemate with Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Coming up against a Real Betis side that had picked up just one victory from their last five league games, Los Blancos were expected to put their visitors to the sword, but in keeping with a recurring theme this season, they failed to play to their full potential and did not do enough to get all three points.

Here, we shall be highlighting three talking points from the LaLiga fixture.

#3 Real Madrid fail to take advantage of Barcelona's slip

Zidane could not take advantage of Barcelona's defeat

Given the spending spree Real Madrid embarked upon during the summer, it is expected that the capital side would bounce back from the shambolic display that was last season and rise back to the summit of the global game.

Zinedine Zidane stated as much and declared that Real Madrid's main objective this term is to win LaLiga.

Although the record champions have had a topsy turvy start to their campaign, they are still very much in the driving seat, as a combination of shock results and surprise teams have ensured that LaLiga is the most open it has been in years.

Heading into matchday 12, Barcelona held the advantage in the league despite having a game in hand, but the Catalans' surprise loss away to Levante earlier in the day handed the initiative to Real Madrid.

This coupled with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid's stalemate at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan meant that all Real needed to do was pick up a victory against Betis to steer clear of their nearest challengers on the table.

However, they failed to take advantage and despite picking up a point to move level with their arch-rivals, Real Madrid would feel like these were two dropped points and they would hope that this result does not come back to haunt them in the title race.

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#2 Real Madrid's Bernabeu struggles against Real Betis continues

Real Madrid CF v Real Betis Balompie - La Liga

As already indicated, Real Betis have been one of the poorer teams in LaLiga this season and headed into the clash with Real Madrid just two points clear of the relegation places.

This poor run of form saw the home side installed as heavy favorites and with proven world beaters like Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos among others on display for Los Blancos, anybody would have been forgiven for thinking Betis would be on the end of a whitewash.

However, Los Verdiblancos had an ace up their sleeves and that lay in the fact that they have a good recent record against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It might be hard to believe, but prior to this clash, Real Betis had won on each of their last two visits to the Bernabeu, with a 1-0 victory in September 2017 followed by a 2-0 win at the tail end of last year.

This stalemate means that the Andalusians have now gone three matches without defeat against Real Madrid on their own perch and more impressively, they have shut out the Spanish giants on each occasion.

#1 Eden Hazard puts up no-show

Eden Hazard's transfer to Real Madrid was one of the most straightforward deals in recent history, as all parties involved completed the requisite details with minimum fuss.

His arrival was also greeted with a lot of positivism by fans of the club, as despite paying a club-record fee for his services, the Belgian international had proven to be a world-class performer and it was expected that he would help in their ascent back to the summit.

A foot injury sustained on the eve of the season delayed his debut, but even after his return to full fitness, Hazard's impact has not been as instant as expected, with the former Lille man proving to be nothing more than a passenger in some matches.

So far, he has scored just one goal and provided one assist from six matches and against Real Betis, Hazard failed to up the ante and make a mark on the game with his teammates struggling.

Although he put the ball in the back of the net, the goal was correctly chalked of for offside and other than that, it was a subpar performance from the Real Madrid number 7.

He failed to fire a single shot in the match, while he made just one key pass and had only 52 touches in the game.

On his day, Eden Hazard is undoubted a world-class player of the highest level with the ability to almost single-handedly decide the outcome of matches on his own and it is highly likely that he would recover his best form at Real Madrid.

However, given the notoriously demanding nature of Real Madrid fans, it would be in his best interest to start churning out performances deserving of his level.