An all-energy Real Madrid picked up an impressive 2-1 victory over Real Betis on Saturday afternoon.
Goals from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo were enough to see off the away side, who threatened to spoil the party when former Real man Sergio Canales fired home midway through the first half.
Nabil Fekir had an unconvincing penalty shout waved away inside five minutes, shortly before Vinicius opened the scoring.
A long ball over the top from David Alaba sent Vinicius through on goal and the Brazilian flashed his composure to lob the ball over the onrushing Rui Silva and into the back of the net.
The long-awaited return of football to the Santiago Bernabeu, which currently has a capacity of around 68,000, appeared to inspire Real, who were playing with immense energy and hunger, pressing high and trying to take the game to Betis.
Against the run of play, however, Canales thumped home an equaliser through the legs of Thibaut Courtois, catching Real out with a quick throw-in.
Vinicius then missed a superb chance to reclaim the lead just seconds later. From six yards out, the Brazilian managed to thump his strike over the bar when it looked harder to miss than score.
Silva then pulled out an exceptional save to keep out Aurelien Tchouameni’s header, before Alaba fired wide from close range.
Ancelotti’s men pushed hard for a go-ahead goal before the break, with some glorious moves and tidy passing leading to some half-chances, but they just couldn’t get through.
That proactivity continued into the second half and Real should have taken the lead through Karim Benzema. Rodrygo’s drilled cross was excellent and somehow the Frenchman failed to tap home from two yards. Remember the moment because you’ll probably never see that again.
For all their positivity, Real still struggled to find the breakthrough and were a little fortunate to still be level as Canales and Alex Moreno combined to draw a nice save from Courtois.
On came Federico Valverde shortly after the hour mark, and the Uruguayan’s first touch was a cut-back to Rodrygo, who stroked the ball into the bottom corner to restore Real’s lead.
That strike proved to be a real dagger to Betis hearts as all the away side’s enthusiasm appeared to fade, although Guido Rodriguez did draw a nice save out of Courtois.
Ultimately, it ended up being a comfortable victory for Real, who were good value for the three points.
GK: Thibaut Courtois – 5/10 – Not particularly busy but another goal that went through his legs. The meme exists for a reason.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 4/10 – Looked pretty exhausted from the first minute and got caught out for the equaliser.
CB: Eder Militao – 7/10 – Some excellent balls forward to link up with Vinicius and generally pretty composed at the back.
CB: David Alaba – 8/10 – Another solid defensive showing and some glorious passes forward. Couldn’t ask for more.
LB: Ferland Mendy – 5/10 – Real’s weak link is definitely at full-back. Mendy had a solid game but failed to add anything at either end really. As average as they come.
DM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 8/10 – Casemiro who? A sensational performance from Tchouameni. Destructive in defence and involved in attack. Very unfortunate not to score.
CM: Eduardo Camavinga – 6/10 – By no means poor but definitely outshone by Tchouameni.
CM: Luka Modric – 7/10 – Some really classy touches and evidently delighted to be surrounded by so many willing runners.
RW: Rodrygo – 7/10 – Some uncomfortable moments but made the difference with a nice goal. Robbed of an assist by Benzema.
ST: Karim Benzema – 5/10 – Strange. Some excellent touches but nowhere near his best here, summed up by his stunning miss from two yards out.
LW: Vinicius Junior – 7/10 – Really lively out wide and happy to drift in centrally when Benzema needed help. A beautiful goal.
SUB: Federico Valverde (63′ for Camavinga) – 7/10 – His first touch was an assist for Rodrygo.
SUB: Dani Ceballos (80′ for Rodrygo) – N/A
SUB: Toni Kroos (80′ for Modric) – N/A
SUB: Antonio Rudiger (90′ for Carvajal) – N/A
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti – 8/10 – Set his side up with real energy and his introduction of Valverde made an immediate impact.
