KING’S CUP | REAL SOCIEDAD 0-BETIS 4 Betis flies to the semifinals with another goalscoring festival

Betis flies to the semifinals and presents its candidacy to lift this Copa del Rey. The Verdiblanco team got rid of Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena with another scoring festival with which he scares his rivals, showing that he is very serious in this competition. Pellegrini’s team wants the Cup, and it is in a moment that it is really scary. He doesn’t care who is ahead, he doesn’t care if he has to play against the field factor. It doesn’t matter to him. He pulls a terrible efficiency, a practical football but at the same time crushing, and above all he has no mercy.

Let them tell Juanmi Jiménez. With his double he put his Betis into orbit and annihilated the illusions of his former team, a very blurred Real, who started the game badly and finished it worse, with a result that hurt a lot and that can take its toll on him in the future. In between, he had no luck, and everything that could go wrong, went worse. But Betis was better. From the beginning to the end. And he ended up qualifying for the semifinals brilliantly with another goalscoring festival. He is winning four by four, leaving rivals mercilessly in the gutter, which the former royalists did not have either, Juanmi, Canales and Willian José, all three key in the bulky final result. We were talking in the preview about the ‘Royal Army’ of Betis, because they put it together well at the Reale Arena. Pellegrini once again demonstrates that they are firm candidates to lift this Cup. Along the way they have left behind one of those contenders who have lifted it not so long ago.

The game started with rhythm, as expected from two teams that we don’t like to speculate, that always go out in search of their rival, with the ball as a faithful companion in fatigue. La Real wanted to imbue itself with the illusion that was breathed in the atmosphere of a Reale Arena dressed in its best clothes, despite the capacity restriction. And he accelerated in search of the goal that would calm his logical nerves of not failing in front of his people. And Betis stood up, like that boxer who knows how to take his opponent’s blows, waiting for the right moment to respond with more force and intention. Goals were presumed, at least both usually look for them. And it was Betis that was positioned better and better on the pitch. He advanced his line of pressure, drowned out Real’s ball output and made him very uncomfortable. The people from San Sebastian were as if overwhelmed by the situation, with the feeling of being self-conscious about the previous cupbearers against Betis, who literally flew in the first half on the Anoeta pitch.

Copa del Rey

*Data updated as of February 3, 2022

As a result of this good start for Betis came the early goal by Juanmi Jiménez, who finished off a William Carvalho service in the small area after fighting for a ball in the baseline in which Guevara won the game. It was minute 12 and the scenario changed completely. The Verdiblanco team went on to play very comfortably and the txuri-urdin had to row against the tide, and they couldn’t find it, because they couldn’t find Merino and Silva, who were very subdued throughout the match. The first twenty minutes of Betis were to frame, and those of Real to forget. Betis calmed down and allowed Real to grow a bit to get close to a draw, which could have come with a goal by Januzaj annulled due to a much-discussed offside by Oyarzabal at the start of the move. Remiro avoided the 0-2 before the break and the game went to the changing rooms with that tight result.

La Real came out with another spirit in the second half, with the intention of finding a tie soon to change the dynamic of the game. Isak was able to do it, but his shot in the mouth of the goal was taken from Rui Silva when he had the entire goal to score. It seemed more difficult to fail than to put the ball in the goal, but we must also give credit to the Verdiblanco goalkeeper who pulled out a fantastic hand to prevent the royalists from getting into the tie. Everything that had to go wrong for Real, went worse. And Betis quite the opposite. It grew as the minutes passed, because Juanmi turned everything he touched into gold. The striker from Coín made it 0-2 at game time and Betis began to put land in between on the scoreboard. Tremendous pass from Canales for Alex Moreno’s career, Zaldua was unable to cut the ball and the side put a candy so that Juanmi, again, at the first touch, scored again.

La Real began to see everything black. To the Betis the sky was opened to him. More when, again, Zaldua committed a penalty by hitting the ball in his hand. Willian José put the reason for the match, because the Brazilian asked for the ball to shoot the maximum penalty. He had to leave pending accounts in Donostia, because otherwise it is not understood. He scored, of course, fooling Remiro, and pointed to the Betis shield. He’ll explain it, if he wants. But his goal, be that as it may, ended up sinking a very touched Real, and that not even the goal of honor could score, because the post denied it to Portu. And meanwhile, the Betis team culminated their festival with another ball behind Zaldua, who suffered tremendously in the second half, for Aitor Ruibal to put the finishing touch to his brilliant qualification for the semifinals. La Real will have to examine their conscience, because this elimination is one of those that does a lot of damage.