Real Betis were without their star man Isco on Thursday night as they came up against league leaders Girona, who would go into the Christmas break as leaders with a win. Both teams voiced their opposition to the Super League before the game after the European Court of Justice ruled that the project could go ahead, wearing shirts with the message, “Earn it on the pitch.” Betis had yet to lose at the Benito Villamarín Stadium, but Girona have yet to lose away from home, winning all but one, which they drew.
The game started slowly, with neither time creating any clear-cut chances in the first 20 minutes, although Girona did dominate possession, as we are used to seeing. It was Ayoze Pérez who had the first clear chance, but the winger was unable to keep the ball down after wonderful control to bring the ball under control. The miss sparked the game into life as a flurry of chances followed. Savinho was unable to properly connect with the ball as he sent a shot rolling into the arms of the Betis goalkeeper, but it was the home side who rued their missed chances. Assane Diao did everything right as he charged down the middle, only to sky the one-on-one. Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga got down well to deny Willian José as the home side were knocking on the door. But it was Girona who got the first goal through an Artem Dovbyk penalty. Aitor Ruibal clumsily brought down Savinho, and Dovbyk cooly converted.
In the second half, Betis pushed forward, while Girona preferred to cause problems on the counterattack with the pace of Savinho. Dovbyk missed a glorious chance just two minutes into the second half as he was unable to turn the ball into the back of the net from a Yan Couto cross. Betis had some half chances but were never able to test Gazzaniga to any real extent. William Carvalho’s long-range shot was easily stopped, while Borja Iglesias did not gamble to get on the end of an Ez Abde header. However, the away side were unable to hold on as Betis scored in the 88th minute to break Girona hearts. The Catalan side were unable to clear their lines from a corner, and Germán Pezzella fired home from close range.
While Girona remain top of the league, a Real Madrid win in the late game will change that. However, Girona will go into the Christmas break happy with their year so far. Betis missed an opportunity to close the gap with Real Sociedad in sixth, who drew with Cádiz.
GSFN | Finn Entwistle
