Betis suffered an atrocity against Elche to advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, where they will be joined in the draw, which will be held next Monday, by Alavés, who beat Rayo (2-0). Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Atlético and Albacete have also already made it through. the great protagonist of the Andalusian victory, because with two goals he gave his team the pass after Elche dominated the match at will for an hour of play. Eder Sarabia’s team played a great game, although they couldn’t in the final stretch against a Betic team that rebelled when things were worst. A great Ruibal, accompanied by Fornals and Ávila himself, were the protagonists of the Betic team’s pass.
2
Adrián, Aitor Ruibal, Ricardo Rodríguez, Natan, Diego Llorente (Marc Bartra, min. 81), Rodrigo Riquelme (Pablo Fornals, min. 54), Antony, Nelson Deossa, Giovani Lo Celso (Pablo García, min. 55), Sergi Altimira (Marc Roca, min. 72) y Cédric Bakambu (Chimy Ávila, min. 55)
1
Matías Dituro, Adrià Pedrosa, Léo Pétrot, David Affengruber, Victor Chust, Martim Neto (Grady Diangana, min. 68), Rodrigo Mendoza (Yago Santiago, min. 77), Josan (Germán Valera, min. 68), Aleix Febas, Marc Aguado (Federico Redondo, min. 59) and Adam El Mokhtari (Álvaro Rodríguez, min. 59)
Goals
0-1 min. 57: Leo Petrot. 1-1 min. 67: Chimy Ávila. 2-1 min. 79: Chimy Ávila
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano
yellow cards
Sergah Altimira (min. 18), Such (min. 63), Redrop (min. 71).
red cards
Sarabia (min. 95)
Betis, at least according to the statements of its coach, Manuel Pellegrini, wants the Cup. A competition whose final is played on the field where the Andalusians are local and where they won the title: the La Cartuja stadium. Another thing is, then, what it offers on the field. With a slow and tiring pace, Betis was barely able to put Elche in trouble, a rival with clear ideas, but who arrived in Seville without forwards due to injuries to Rafa Mir and André Silva. Eder Sarabia signed an eleven full of midfielders and his team played the ball well. Something already expected in Elche. In the face of so much pass from the visitors, Betis was a spectator, with its two big stars, Antony and Lo Celso, as spectators.
The first time in La Cartuja was dull. So much so that there were only two shots between the sticks and both from set pieces. A foul by Adam that Adrián, a starter for the Verdiblanco team, took on the edge of half-time that Dituro cleared very well. The zero to zero at half-time was a reflection of the impotence of Betis and the lack of punch of an Elche that had 58% possession in the first act. Without punch or speed from both contestants, it was evident that the first one to make a mistake could be eliminated.
Elche played and played until they caused the green and white fans to despair. And the formula came out. He found the goal after a disengagement in defense by the Andalusian team, which allowed Petrot to put his team ahead. Álvaro still had the 0-2 on a ball into the area that he finished off and hit the post. Faced with the anger from the stands, Manuel Pellegrini reacted with a triple substitution. They entered the field of play. Fornals’ contribution was substantial, as he exuded a lot of class to help Betis. The pass came from his feet that allowed Ávila to score the tying goal. Ávila himself, after an assist from Ruibal, Betis’ best player, made it 2-1 to consolidate the Betis reaction. Elche tried until the end and it was Adrián, the third Green and White goalkeeper, who helped Betis consolidate the classification with a great save after a shot by Yago.
In Vitoria, Alavés and Rayo played a match that moved with great equality. The team led by Coudet is showing great irregularity in the League, but wants to give its fans joy in the Cup. They already eliminated Sevilla in the previous round and the draw once again smiled on the Basques with another round at home. A goal from Toni Martínez put the Basques ahead and the game turned against them with the expulsion of Óscar Valentín in the 69th minute. Rayo tried until the end, but it all ended in the 89th minute when Carlos Vicente made it 2-0 after taking advantage of a bad start by goalkeeper Cárdenas.
Alavés is having a great Cup tournament and has deservedly reached the quarterfinals. Now he will have the opportunity to be among the eight best in a competition that, in addition to offering the possibility of winning a title, has the prize of competing.
