Real Betis 0-0 Real Madrid: summary, score, goals, highlights, LaLiga 22/23

Thanks for tuning in this evening and we look forward to catching you soon for more live LaLiga action.

How the top of the table looks after Sunday's action.

Barcelona top with a 9 point advantage over Madrid.

Betis remain in fifth but trail Real Sociedad by just three points.

Betis, you feel will be the happier of the sides with the point.

FC Barcelona now hold a nine point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table.

FT in Seville. Betis 0-0 Real Madrid 

Luiz Henrique almost sneaks the ball into the corner of Courtois' net with a long range effort.

Benzema shoots but blazes the ball over the bar.

Last chance there for the visitors?

We'll have five minutes of time added on.

Last minute of the contest.

Will this be Joaquin's last run out against Real Madrid?

Corner for the visitors.

Everything pointing to a 0-0 but as goalless games go it's been highly entertaining.

Vini Jr. carded for kicking the ball away in frustration.

Joaquin set to make an entrance.

The veteran winger comes on for Miranda.

Ruibal also makes way for Abner

Change for Real Madrid

Alvaro on for Toni Kroos

Luis Henrique is carded for protesting 

As things stand, Barcelona hold a 9 point gap at the top of the LaLiga table.

Last ten in Seville.

Can either side break the deadlock?

Guardado replaces William Carvalho for Betis

Madrid knocking on the door now as Vini shoots and forces Bravo to save well.

All Real Madrid now as Nacho heads and Bravo has to stretch to clear.

Still no way through for either side.

Betis now being pegged back a little and sitting deeper.

Ceballos almost finds the target as his effort goes inches wide.

Double switch for Betis

Ayoze and Iglesias off as Willian Jose and Luiz Henrique on 

Ruibal has been excellent for Betis tonight.

Rodrygo too for Madrid have been the standout players for both teams.

Betis corner with less than 25 minutes to go.

Substitutions for Real Madrid:

Ceballos on for Camavinga 

Nacho on for Tchouaméni 

Rodrygo almost makes it 0-1 as he latches onto a fine delivery from Valderde. 

A lightning counter from the visitors.

Ceballos and Nacho set to come on.

Lucas Vazquez makes way for Carvajal.

Betis press and Carvajal is straight into action.

Frantic football between both sides now.

Rodygo carded as he clips William ...

Militao also carded for an earlier incident

Carvajal strips off and seems poised to be the first substitute of the night.

Borja Iglesias goes close as he latches onto a great ball from Miranda and forces Courtois into action. 

Great play from the home side and an excellent stop from the Belgian.

Valverde shoot from range and almost surprises Bravo.

What a passage of play !

Borja Iglesias carded for a reaction as he questions a decision by match official Soto Grado.

Birthday boy Sabaly carded for a foul on Vini Jr.

Great work from Real Madrid as Vini Jr does well in taking the ball to the byline and feeds Benzema who forces a fine stop from Bravo.

Best passage of play all night from Real Madrid.

52,212 fans at the Villamarin tonight.

Courtois called into action straight away as the Belgian saves well from a long range effort.

Betis get the second half underway

The teams slowly return to the pitch at the impressive Estadio Benito Villamarin.

HT: Betis 0-0 Real Madrid

No goals in Seville but a bright game with both sides enjoying spells of dominance.

Madrid did have the ball in the net but VAR (correctly) intervened to rule out the effort after Benzema's free clearly struck Rudiger on the arm.

Big 45' coming up ! 

HT in Seville

Rubial hauls back Camavinga and is lucky not to be carded.

Carvalho does get a card for protesting.

Into added time we go....

We'll have one minute of added time.

Sabaly breaks into the box but his final shot is a little wild as he bears down on goal.

It's a really even contest here in the Andalusian capital.

Rudiger fouls Iglesias and Betis have a dangerous free.

Rodri and Miranda over the ball.

Rudiger clears and Madrid break. Miranda back on defensive duty to clear the danger.

Approaching the 40' mark and Madrid still yet to muster a shot on goal. A similar situation as we saw last Thursday in the Cup game...

Real Madrid now enjoying a spell of dominance as they look to the pace of Rodrygo and Vini Jr.

Vini was off form on Thursday night in the Copa del Rey game and we've yet to see the winger shine tonight.

Lovely 1-2 from Rodrygo and Benzema which Betis finally clear as Valverde who unleashes a monster of a shot which goes inches over Bravo's crossbar.

Possession after 30 minutes:

Betis 40-60 Madrid (%)

The game is starting to open up a little now as more space appears.

Camavinga clips Rodri and is the first player to pick up a booking tonight.

Another dangerous free for Madrid as Vini Jr. is tripped on the edge of the box by Pezzella.

Betis counter from the dead ball.

A brief lull in the contest now as Betis now seem to have the upper hand. 

Pellegrini celebrating his 100th LaLiga game tonight after spells with Madrid, Malaga, Villarreal and now Real Betis.

The goal (that was disallowed) seems to have sucked some of the life from the crowd. 

There are plenty of Madrid supporters here tonight in the away zone with approximately 500 Madridistas present.

VAR being consulted ....

That should be ruled out....

No goal... correct call !

Rodrygo is clipped just outside the box and the Brazilian wins a free for his side. Benzema, Kroos and Valverde over the ball.

Benzema scores !!!!

What a strike from Ayoze as he forces Courtois to tip over the bar. Great work from the home side.

Both these sides still involved in European action.

Betis head to face Man United next Thursday in the Europa League with Madrid set to play Real Madrid in the Champions League (second leg) Round of 16 game with a healthy 5-2 lead from the game at Liverpool.

Corner for Betis after fine work from Ayoze and Miranda.

Miranda hits but it's not the best delivery and Madrid avert the danger.

Miranda fouled by Valverde and it's the visitors who have started on the front foot.

Madrid start the game...

Both keepers (Bravo and Courtois) wearing black shirts tonight as they pay tribute to legendary Athletic stopper who celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this week.

The teams are in the tunnel.... 

The atmosphere electric inside the stadium.

Betis players with their t-shirts of 'animo' for Nabil Fekir who is out of action for the rest of the season with a knee problem.

10 minutes to kick-off ....

How do we see this going tonight?

Betis fans would love to get one over on the side from the capital after their neighbours from the Sanchez Pizjuan were handed a 6-1 drubbing by Atletico last night.

Tonight's game is as good as sold out with just a handful of VIP tickets left costing 120-215 euro. 

As always the Betis anthem as the team takes to the pitch alone is worth the admission price. 

A reminder of the team news should you just be joining us....

No Modric, Mendy or Alaba for Real Madrid with Fekir and Sergio Canales they key absentees for Real Betis.

SOCCER

Ceballos’ bubble bursts

Ceballos back at Betis with a point to prove

Pellegrini pre game

Real Betis' Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini paid tribute to his team's spirit as he faced the media ahead of the Sunday clash against Real Madrid in Seville.

Ancelotti optimistic pre game

Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Carlo Ancelotti was happy with how his team are dealing with a gruelling set of games: "We're managing the scheduling quite well. The team's in good physical condition and the players are recovering. Mendy should be back next week."
 
"We've got a tough game against Betis, who are an organised team, and they play very good and attractive football. There's no room for error and we'll do everything we can to get the win."

A mixed bag of results for Real Madrid in their past four outings.

A Copa del Rey loss at home last Thursday to Barcelona followed a 1-1 draw in the Madrid derby with the highlight of recent results for Ancelotti's men undoubtedly being the 2-5 win at Anfield in the Champions League Round of 16 (first leg).

Real Betis are on a roll now having won a hat-trick of games that keeps the Andalusian side in contention for as fourth place finish. 

Almeria, Valladolid and Elche have succumbed to Los Verdiblancos in the past three league outings.

REAL MADRID

Real Madrid’s growing concern over Vinicius’ treatment in LaLiga

Despite the fact that the club considers him a “victim”, concern is growing as the player always seems to close to conteversoy. 

Betis-Real Madrid: matchday weather

It's a dreary March evening in Seville with a current temperature of 13C/55F and a 20% possibility of a shower during Sunday night's contest.

Bravo to wear black

Betis keeper Claudio Bravo will sport a black goalkeeping shirt tonight as he joins other LaLiga stoppers as they pay tribute to Athletic Club stopper 'El Txopo' Iribar who turned 80 this week.

Betis confirm starting XI

Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed his starting XI ahead of the Real Madrid game as Iglesias, Rodri and Ayoze lead the line for the Verdiblancos.

World Cup winner Guido Rodriguez captains the team tonight in the absence of Canales and Fekir.

Betis to honor Fekir

Real Betis will take to the pitch tonight with a special pre-game shirt to pay tribute to French player Nabil Fekir with the news this week that the player will miss the rest of the season due to a knee problem.

The message reads: "You'll be soon with us Nabil Fekir"

Real Madrid XI confirmed

Benzema, Vini Jr. and Rodrygo lead the line for Real Madrid with Tchouaméni drafted into the midfield.

Ceballos and Hazard (remember him) start on the bench.

Tonight's referee

César Soto Grado has been selected as the match official for the LaLiga clash at the Benito Villamarin.

The 42-year-old from Avila has been a LaLiga match official since 2109.

The referee has overseen Real Madrid ten times in the top flight with Los Blancos winning 6, drawing 2 and falling twice.

His eight games in charge of Betis have seen the Andalusian side record 25% wins in those contests.

Betis-Real Madrid (key absentees)

Both teams head into tonight's game missing key men with Fekir, Canales and Juan Cruz all ruled out for the home side.

Luka Modric is suspended and misses the game along with Alaba, Mendy and Álvaro Odriozola who pulled out of the squad earlier on Sunday. A muscular problem prevented the Basque defender from travelling to Seville.

A look at the top of table ahead of Sunday night's game and once can appreciate the need for a win from both teams perspective.

Playing surface at the Benito Villamarin in immaculate condition

Grey clouds overhead and a threat of rain in the air in the Andalusian capital but the pitch at the Heliopolis ground in Sevile is looking excellent.

Betis-Real Madrid

The creative team at Real Betis getting inspired by children's books for their matchday poster ahead of Sunday night's Benito Villamarin clash.

Betis vs Real Madrid: last five meetings

September 2022, LaLiga: Real Madrid 2-1 Betis

May 2022, LaLiga: Real Madrid 0-0 Betis

August 2021, LaLiga: Betis 0-1 Real Madrid

April 2021, LaLiga: Real Madrid 0-0 Betis

September 2020, LaLiga: Betis 2-3 Real Madrid

Real Madrid

Meanwhile, second-placed Real Madrid will hope to get another three points especially after Barcelona beat Valencia to maintain a current ten point gap in the table.

The visitors, who already came out on top against Betis 2-1 in September, will want to quickly forget their 0-1 defeat to Barça in the Copa del Rey semifinals.

In their last game in the league, Carlo Ancelotti’s side was held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico Madrid, with both teams finding the back of the net in the last 15 minutes of the game.

The recently crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions are the favorites to emerge victorious in Seville, but all three of their losses in LaLiga have come away from Santiago Bernabéu.

Real Betis

The hosts will be looking to record their fourth consecutive win when they face Real Madrid at the Benito Villamarín on Sunday.

Betis who are fighting for a Champions League spot, are currently sitting fifth with 40 points, only four behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad.

The Andalusian side, who recently defeated Almeria, Real Valladolid, and Elche, will play Manchester United in the last-16 stage of the Europa League, with the first leg taking place at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Real Betis, who recently lost key player Fekir for the rest of the season due to a knee injury, will try to defeat beat Real for the first time since March 2020 and will also have to do without key player Sergio Canales.

Both teams desperate to secure maximum points to maintain their respective objectives in the table.... the home side need to stay in touch with the sides in the top four in their quest for a Champions League place with Real Madrid anxious to maintain ground with Barcelona at the summit after the Catalan side recorded a 1-0 home win over Valencia earlier on Sunday.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Real Betis vs Real Madrid with the LaLiga Santander matchday 24 game getting underway at 21:00 (local time) / 3pm (ET) / 12om (PT).