Coming off a draw against Atletico Madrid the week before and a disappointing loss in the Copa del Rey against Barcelona, Real Madrid needed to bounce back in their clash against Real Betis.
Even more so as they went into the game 10 points of back of the Catalan side after they won their game hours earlier against Valencia.
Much to the chagrin of the Madrid faithful, Los Blancos were held scoreless once again and could only muster a draw at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
In order to get more of a spark from their fullbacks, Carlo Ancelotti decided to play Lucas Vazquez at right-back and Eduardo Camavinga as a makeshift left-back. Both were able to contribute to a Madrid side that played well at times but were unable to capitalize some of their chances. Either the final touch wasn’t there or their efforts were well-saved by Claudio Bravo.
However, it wasn’t a one-sided affair.
Despite being without Nabil Fekir and Sergio Canales, Real Betis created their own moments of danger. Perhaps their clearest opportunity came through Borja Iglesias, who saw his shot inside the box saved by Thibaut Courtois. The Madrid goalkeeper played his part in ensuring his team were able to come away with a draw.
To say Real Madrid were disappointed to not come away with three points would be an understatement. The frustration at another slip-up is only added by the fact they haven’t played poorly.
We will keep fighting. It’s still March and there is a lot to be played,” Vazquez said after the game. “We made enough to deserve something more. We were not on target in the last stretch, we are not happy with the result.
“I urge the fans to keep trusting in us. We will fight until the end for the three titles we are competing in.”
Openly, the players are going to keep saying they’ll fight until the end until it’s mathematically impossible for them to catch Barcelona. But it is going to be a difficult task as they’re now nine points back of the league leaders.
To make matters worse, their game-changing players all seem to be faltering at the same time which could explain their sudden goal scoring drought.
“I’m more upset than angry,” Carlo Ancelotti said. “It’s strange that this team with its quality can’t score goals in three games, that’s the reality, it affects me, the players are affected too, we can score goals, we always have. That’s the problem, being more efficient.”
Real Madrid may soon have to shift all their focus to the Champions League considering their results in LaLiga and Copa del Rey.
However, despite how small their chances are in the league, they can take a huge step to getting back in it in two weeks when they take on Barcelona at the Camp Nou. At the same time, it could once and for all put the title chase to bed should they end up losing.