MATCH REPORT | Real Betis falls at San Mamés (1-0)
A goal scored by Muniain in the first half decided the game
Real Betis Balompié returned home with empty hands after the match against Athletic Club. The team could not find their better version, especially in the first half, when the team was overwhelmed by the opponent.
The match went underway with high intensity on the pitch, with Athletic pressing strong on Betis. The locals had a couple of approaches at the start but without clear sanger.
The first of the game was for Muniain, who shot from close-range but missed by a whisker. Not long afterwards, the home side took the lead. This time, Muniain controlled and shot to put the ball in the bottom corner after a mistake in the beginning of a play by Betis' defence. The home team was much better at this point than Betis and continued trying. Munian, in fact, did it so, but missed a small distance.
The first chance for Betis came after the first half an hour with a free kick shot by Canales that went wide. Athletic replied through De Marcos. Surprisingly, the player missed the shot with everything in his favour. The answer came from Lainez, for the first time in the starting eleven, with a good shot that forced Herrerín to make a good save.
In that corner kick, Feddal headed a good cross and hit the crossbar.
The second half went underway in the same fashion. Athletic more intense on the field and winning all the divided balls and creating more danger. The team started to improve slowly, though, with Lainez being the best of the Green and Whites. However, the next occasion was for Athletic. Williams was alone and about to shoot when Feddal appeared to block his shot.
The next chance came in yet another ball loss from Betis on their own half. This allowed Berchiche to shoot from just outside the box, nu Pau López made a good save. Betis continued trying and gained more presence on the other half. Canales almost scored in a free kick, but Herrerín made a great save.
In the 84th minute, chances improved for Betis when De Marcos was shown a straight red card for a nasty tackle on Sidnei. The team continued pushing but got nothing out of the game.
Athletic Club:
Herrerín, Capa, Yeray, Íñigo Martínez, Yuri Berchiche, San José, Dani García,
De Marcos, Muniain (Ibai Gómez 78'), Córdoba (Balenziaga 69'), Williams
(Guruzeta 86').
Goals: Muniain (20').
Booked:
Berchiche (25'), San José (30'), Yeray (81'), Capa (87').
Sent off: De Marcos (83').
Real Betis Balompié:
Pau López, Barragán (Tello 58'), Mandi, Feddal, Sidnei, Francis, Carvalho,
Canales, Lo Celso, Lainez (Guardado 74') y Loren (Sergio León 74').
Booked: Sidnei (24'), Loren (49').