Deportivovs
Real BetisRiazor was ready to swallow a defeat. Real Betis had led since the 43rd minute, were controlling the ball at 57%, and looked every bit like a side that had won four of its last five. Then Mario Soriano Carreno swung one in from the right in the 87th minute and Diego Villares met it with his head. Point shared. Crowd saved.
Our pre-match read had leaned toward Betis at 49% — the form backed it — and for most of the night, that read looked correct.
The First Half
Deportivo started with energy but spent much of the opening forty minutes chasing the game before it had even started. Bright Ede picked up a yellow card in the third minute, which set an anxious tone and put Deportivo on the back foot early in terms of discipline.
Betis were patient, circulating the ball through their 575 passes on the night without rushing. The opener came from a moment of quality: Nelson Deossa found Cucho Hernández just before the break, and Hernández finished to put the visitors ahead. Clean, efficient, and exactly what a side with Betis's recent form does when given space to breathe.
Deportivo Push Back
The second half was a different picture, and the numbers back it up. Deportivo finished with 24 shots to Betis's 11 — seven on target — and earned 11 corners to Betis's five. They were camped in the Betis half for long stretches, throwing bodies forward and asking questions their opponent's goalkeeper had to keep answering, six saves on the night.
Valentín Gómez picked up a yellow for Betis in the 65th minute, which told you how much pressure Deportivo were generating. But a goal wasn't coming. Until it did.
Eighty-seven minutes in, Soriano Carreno delivered, Villares attacked the ball, and the header was in. El grito de Riazor — that moment when 29,034 people exhale all at once.
Verdict
Deportivo will feel this is a point earned rather than two dropped. They were the lesser side for long stretches, gave up possession willingly at 42.9%, and needed a late header to avoid their third defeat in five. The question now is whether that kind of resilience — grinding out results when the performance isn't there — is a sign of a maturing side or just survival.
Betis, meanwhile, will feel the sting. Four straight wins was right there, and a single set piece in the final minutes took it away. Cabal, that's the margin between a good run and a great one.
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