Betis stumbles in Prague, making Europa League continuity difficult

Slovak Lukas Haraslín scored for the Czech team In the 54th minute of the match, where Betis, which had less depth, hierarchy and verticality than the other matches, greatly reduced its performance, especially in the extremely cautious second half, Sparta created some chances for a draw despite Prague losing very little. .

In a decisive duel for both teams, if the Czech Republic, in third place with 4 points, accelerates its chances of advancing to the round, and Betis comes in as leaders with 9 points, their classification will be compared to Chile. Manuel PellegriniBy adhering to the rotation policy, Revolutionized the green-white eleven with nine changes compared to the last league match. Only two Argentine internationals repeated: centre-back Pezzella and midfielder Guido Rodríguez.

Betis is unbeaten in 13 consecutive matches, three of which are in Europe; The first one brought great good news to Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Silva with the 2-1 home victory against Sparta, which showed its danger in the counter attack. Frenchman Nabil Fekir played his first match eight months after his serious knee injury.

The clash, with Serbian Veljko Birmancevic, Czech Jan Kuchta and Slovakian Lukas Haraslin as the local attacking trio, started as follows: A lively game with alternatives and contrasting styles: Against the vertical and fast football of the team coached by Danish Brian Priske, the Spanish team’s possession and quality are more vulnerable at the back, despite their usual three-man backline. centre-backs.

Despite Guido and Betis being very solid in the middle with Mexican Guardado and young Assane Diao being a great stiletto from the right wing, neither team was able to maintain clear control of the game. He seemed more dominant and had a little more comingHowever, like Diao’s timid shot in the 10th minute, it was not successful and was saved by Danish Peter Vindahl.

In the first half, where there were few opportunities, Borja Iglesias got the best score in the 27th minute. After a pass from active player Assane Diao, he cut his opponent in the area and his shot was blocked by Vindahl jumping to his feet. The Prague players were only occasionally worried about wingers Birmancevic and Haraslín. The goal was scored just before the half hour mark, but a very focused shot went off smoothly for Rui Silva.

During reboot, with login Isco Alarcon The script changed little at the start for Fekir, still far from his best form and suffering a blow to his hip, but Sparta Prague came out strongly and tried with charges from Ecuadorian full-back Angelo Preciado down the right. The lane defended by Brazilian Abner.

After the Czech team passed the ball to Kuchta, the South American’s fastball led to a 1-0 lead, Kuchta controlled well and opened the game from the left, and Slovakian Haraslín beat Rui Silva with a great score. In the 54th minute, he shot hard from a corner of the wide area, which changed the scene a lot.

HE Betis broke down from time to timeIn a phase of tension caused by pressure and collective football with the pressure and courage of the Central Europeans, but they recovered with the force of the score, reacted with the commanding command of Guido Rodríguez in midfield and the greater appearance of Isco. He made it 1-1 with a shot from a defender on the hour mark.

Although Sparta Prague remained determined and fearful at times, such as with Finn Kairinen’s header to Kuchta’s center or Laçi’s death pass that failed to find a finisher, Pellegrini’s team took the lead.

He had no choice but to refrain from playing the pass on the final day and therefore, He took a risk because he was behind the scoreboard.

However, Betis failed to find the reward as Czech league leaders Denmark scored after Guido’s long shot failed to save Borja Iglesias’ close header to a center from Abner and Isco’s cross. A defender failed to clear the ball and came too close to the goal, which could not prevent the defeat against the home-grown team Sparta Prague.