Vinicius shines, Real Madrid still misses chance to close in on Barcelona

(Football result) - Real Madrid missed a significant opportunity to narrow the gap with Barcelona when they were regrettably held to a 1-1 draw by Real Betis in the stoppage time minutes.

After scoring the decisive goal in the win against Alaves earlier this week, Vinicius Junior continued to shine, needing less than 20 minutes to break the deadlock against Betis at La Cartuja stadium.

From Federico Valverde's powerful long-range shot that forced goalkeeper Alvaro Valles to push the ball away, Vinicius arrived at the right moment to easily tap the ball into the empty net, scoring his 13th goal of this La Liga season.

The early goal stunned Betis and they were almost unable to create significant pressure for most of the first half. However, just before the break, the home team unexpectedly accelerated strongly and shook Real Madrid's defense.

In the context of Thibaut Courtois being absent due to injury, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was given the chance to start and he made several excellent saves. Notably, Lunin made two very good blocks against dangerous shots from Antony, helping Real Madrid preserve their advantage before halftime.

Entering the second half, Real Madrid seemed to have put an end to the match when Kylian Mbappe volleyed into Betis' net from Trent Alexander-Arnold's precise pass. However, the assistant referee quickly raised the flag for offside and VAR later confirmed the French striker was behind the opponent's defensive line. Mbappe thus missed the chance to score in his 100th match for Los Blancos.

Betis then continued to rise strongly. Cucho Hernandez, who came on from the bench, had a very difficult volley but Lunin still managed to react with fingertip saves. At the other end, Alvaro Valles also repeatedly denied opportunities from Mbappe and Valverde, keeping hope for points for the home team.

Those efforts were finally rewarded in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Hector Bellerin seized the opportunity from a chaotic situation in the penalty area before delivering a neat finish into the near corner, defeating Lunin and bringing a dramatic equalizing 1-1 goal for Betis.

This late goal also extended Real Madrid's streak of not keeping a clean sheet in La Liga to 10 consecutive matches. With this result, Alvaro Arbeloa's team only temporarily narrowed the gap with Barcelona to 8 points, but the league leaders still have the opportunity to widen the difference to 11 points if they win in this round. Meanwhile, Real Betis firmly consolidated their 5th place position on the standings and created a 6-point gap with the chasing group behind.

Real Betis vs Real Madrid squad information

• Real Betis:Diego Llorente, Ángel Ortiz, Junior Firpo injured.
• Real Madrid:Raúl Asencio, Thibaut Courtois, Rodrygo

Expected lineup Real Betis vs Real Madrid

• Real Betis:Lopez (GK), Rodriguez, Llorente, Barta, Bellerin, Fidalgo, Amrabat, Fornals, Ezzalzouli, Hernandez, Antony.
• Real Madrid:Lunin (GK), Trent, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy, Brahim Diaz, Bellingham, Valverde, Guler, Mbappe, Vinicius.

Form & Head-to-head history

• Real Betis form:In the last 5 matches, Real Betis won 1, drew 3, lost 1. Scored 8 goals, conceded 7 goals.
• Real Madrid form:In the last 5 matches, Real Madrid won 1, drew 1, lost 3. Scored 8 goals, conceded 10 goals.
• Head-to-head history:In the last 5 matches, Real Betis won 1, drew 2, lost 2. Meanwhile, Real Madrid won 2, drew 2, lost 1.