BETIS-SEVILLE | Canals reigns after the chaos

Betis won a ticket to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey between the silence of Benito Villamarín the day after the embarrassment caused by the attack on Joan Jordán from the verdiblancas stands. Manuel Pellegrini’s ensemble smiled, driven by the magic of Canales, who found a hole in Sevilla’s defense when his team least believed in the challenge. The derby closed its remaining 50 minutes in a context of equality that was broken with a goal from Canales under the mistake of youth squad player Alfonso Pastor. Verdiblanco ecstasy and sevillista chaos. All after the umpteenth shame marked by an act of violence that postponed the crash for almost 20 hours.

The duel resumed with certain tactical nuances changed. Lopetegui introduced Koundé and formed a defense of three central defenders to give Acuña air on the left flank. More balance and an incisive commitment to attack the sides of Betis. Pellegrini replaced Bellerín with Sabaly and his bet did not change: he wanted the ball and kept up his incessant pressure up front. There was ten minutes of scoring before the quick break. More fears than intentions. More indecision than courage. Acuña closely watched Fekir’s movements and Rafa Mir looked for unchecks to spaces without an owner.

Sevilla exhibited more forces in the resumption. Acuña became a nightmare on the left and Betis stopped his initial momentum. Fekir had a harder time getting into play and Papu Gómez began to multiply his weight in creation. Ocampos’ internships found more spaces and Óliver tried from afar before Rui Silva’s calm.

Lopetegui moved his pieces first, who made Tecatito Corona debut and decided to hand over the point of attack to Ocampos. There was still more pride than football in both teams under the forced silence of Benito Villamarín. In this scenario of doubts, William Carvalho appeared between the lines to draw a good pass into space for Canales, who controlled, faked against the Sevilla defense and beat an unlucky Alfonso Pastor with his left foot. Ecstasy of the Betic bench. Looking at Lopetegui’s watch.

Sevilla pulled character to try to damage Betis. Rekik finished off after a corner kick finding the hands of Rui Silva and the youth squad Iván Romero scored the Portuguese after Acuña’s umpteenth run. The Argentine became Sevilla’s most lethal weapon, which insisted on its vertical bet to try to find Rui Silva’s goal. Koundé had it in his head shortly after the end after another measured service from Acuña from a set piece, but his shot hit the crossbar of a beaten Rui Silva. Betis played with time after that, finding air with Carvalho’s calm and Fekir’s talent. Everything was already written. The quarterfinals were in the hands of the Verdiblancos on the day after a start to forget. Football gave Betis a smile in a derby marked by what should never have happened.