Fateful afternoon in Vallecas (3-1)
Fateful afternoon in Vallecas. Misfortune had its eye on Real Betis, whose suffering this season seems endless. This time there were two specific actions featuring Paulao that destroyed Gabriel Calderón's team handing a much more confident, visionary and dangerous Rayo Vallecano a victory on a plate.
Real Betis, used to suffering all kinds of adversity, today suffered the most painful possible. The match soon turned into a nightmare. Paulao returned to the fullback position and it was his error that helped Jemez's team to open the scoring. The Brazilian's back pass to Adán fell short and Rochina came from behind to intercept the ball and beat the Betis goalkeeper. A stab to the heart of the Betis' aspirations. The team had begun to move forward looking for Rubén's goal. But the first half still had another mortal blow up its sleeve. Paulao attempted clearance of a cross by Arbilla ended in the back of Adán's net. In the 26th minute and the team was 2-0 down. The fullback was sunk and he requested a substitution from the bench and the manager opted for Vadillo pulling N'Diaye back to accompany Perquis.
Making a comeback looked complicated and despite the fact that it was Rayo who was controlling the match and creating more danger, Betis had their chances with Molina, Baptistao and Rubén Castro before halftime. The last two, especially, were not fortunate with their shots which were off target that, under normal conditions, could have been a goal.
The second half was placid for the home team. The goal that sentenced the match came early on. Rochina received the ball from Falqué, dribbled past Adán but was cleared off the goal line by Perquis. Larrivey, ambitious and active, not miss his opportunity with the clearance and scored the third for the home team. This dead weight was too much for Betis to bear. There was little, very little to rescue in the second half, except Betis' goal by Chica, whose right cross was to honour Miki Roqué and Jarque.
RayoVallecano: Rubén; Arbilla, Zé Castro, Gálvez, Nacho; Trashorras, Sául (66’ Baena); Rochina, Bueno (53’ Seba Fernández), Iago Falqué; and Larrivey.
Real Betis: Adán; Juanfran, Paulao (32’ Vadillo), Perquis (67’ Figueras), Chica; Lolo, N,Diaye, Nono; Baptistao (67’ Verdú), Jorge Molina and Rubén Castro.
Referee. Hernández Hernández. Yellow cards for Ze Castro (38'), Baptistão (62'), Galvez (67'), Arbilla (68'), Nono (85')
Goals1-0 (13') Rochina. 2-0 (26') Paulao. 3-0 (51') Larrivey. 3-1 (79') Chica