The 15th round of La Liga ended on December 1st and, as expected, provided a few wonderful matches, with plenty of goals. At the top of the league, FC Barcelona secured three points in their away match against Atletico Madrid, and Real Madrid won against Alaves, which leaves the two giants with equal points.
Moving lower in the rankings, Getafe, Osasuna, and Real Sociedad had all scored four goals, securing their places among the top 10 teams. Another team that begins to show signs of improvement is Real Betis, which for the first time this season, managed to win two back-to-back matches.
Could Betis further improve?
On November 30th, Real Betis faced Mallorca in an away match, managing to secure a 2-1 victory, even though expectations were low. It’s the first time this season Betis manages to win away, losing three matches and one draw.
The team sponsored by a forex company since the start of the season is now starting to deliver and continues to rank higher in the league. Rubi, the current manager, managed to find an interesting formation, playing an unusual 4-1-4-1 that turned out to be successful, in the end. His team scored twice during the first half, with Joaquin and N. Fekir putting the ball inside the net.
Betis faced a lower-ranking opponent and dominated the game from many different points of view. The 55% possession, 19 free kicks, and a total of 6 saves from the goalkeeper Robles helped the team secure the second win in a row, after winning against Valencia in the past round.
If we could find one word to describe Betis up until now, it could be “inconsistency”. Even though the team had to deal with a few departures during the summer, a few important signings had been secured in order to fill the gaps. Rubi had been appointed as a new manager and even though his track record is impressive, it looks like the adaption process takes longer than anticipated at Betis.
Currently ranked 12th in the league, Betis is 6 points away from the first place ensuring participation in a European tournament next season. Does the team look like one to deserve such a high ranking? Up until now, that’s not the case, but with 23 matches left to play, Betis has plenty of time to prove that it has the potential to be at the top of the league.
