While Betis have made the Benito Villamarin a fortress this season, remaining unbeaten in their home ground since the first kick of the campaign, the first half against Atletico Madrid did not fully go to plan. With two extremely tactical managers manning the respective benches, the pace of the game was slow and neither side managed to carve out high-quality scoring chances.
Perhaps the best opportunity of the half came in stoppage time when Andres Guardado saw his free-kick effort narrowly tipped over the bar by Jan Oblak, ensuring the two teams remained deadlocked at the break.
The Betis faithful erupted only two minutes into the second half when Borja Iglesias put the ball into the roof of the net on the break, but a quick VAR check revealed that the striker was offside, ruling the goal out.
It went from bad to worse for the hosts when Griezmann’s corner kick found its way through the crowd in front of the net and drifted past the goalkeeper to see Los Colchoneros snatch an unlikely lead less than ten minutes later.
The visitors all but wrapped up the victory with 20 minutes remaining when Griezmann was played in behind by Matheus Cunha, and the Frenchman sent the ball in between Silva’s legs to double the capital club’s advantage.
A stunning free-kick by second-half substitute Nabil Fekir cut the lead in half for Los Verdes, but it was all too-little, too-late for the hosts, as Simeone’s experienced side held on to secure a crucial victory in the top-four race.
After appearing to take an early second half lead, Manuel Pellegrini’s men will be bitterly disappointed to collapse and miss out on all three points. However, their first loss at home all season should not dampen the good feelings for Betis, who continue to push for their first top-four finish since the 1942/43 campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
