Borja Iglesias rescues Betis and reduces the brave Rayo

Pellegrini’s Betis is a cheerful team, with a tendency towards attacking and combination football, but they reached the fifth Copa del Rey final in the club’s history by using too much calculator. He speculated excessively against Rayo with the treasure of Vallecas’ 1-2 and the brave team from the fringe, against which there is no room for reproach despite falling by the wayside, he was close to making them pay dearly. He had the extension in his hands and it escaped him ‘in extremis’, with the good work of Borja Iglesias for the auction and the necessary dose of Betic fortune.

Rayo came out brave to the game. The opportunity was historic for a modest with very little to lose and everything to gain. And it is that Vallecas’ 1-2 also helped to loosen up, as it forced them to win at Villamarín, dressed in full dress for the occasion. The responsibility was all for the Verdiblancos, demanded by the advantage, their best squad and with a final in their city just one step away, and the Betis interests went through becoming owners of the game through the great ball handling of Canales, Fekir or Juanmi, with two good bodyguards behind him like Guido Rodríguez and William Carvalho.

To counter this Pellegrini plan, Iraola bet everything on high pressure. Recover in the Betic field and go on the counter like rockets, the keys to the Rayista script with which the red-and-red team challenged the rival favoritism during the first half. The Madrid team generated more of a sense of danger until the break and short-circuited Betis’ usual good game. It cost the Sevillian team to come to a boil, with Canales absolutely annulled by the willful Rayo, very recognizable in his proposal, always a good sign. On the contrary, the local team, denatured, had to resort to the depth of Álex Moreno on the left wing before the blockade in the center.

The pause did not change the face of the game, with a stuck Betis and the courage of Rayo on the rise. The whole of the strip followed regularly stepping on rival domains, without any complexes, one goal away from sending the tie to extra time. Iraola doubled the bet with fresh attackers such as Nteka, Baby or Sylla but the boldness of the visitors was, despite everything, a double-edged sword, with more spaces for the expected Betis attackers to end up appearing. The experience of the first leg already warned Iraola’s pupils of the opponent’s punch and the truth is that an oversight was enough for Fekir to plant himself in the visiting area and run into Luca Zidane with all favor.

Paradoxically, Betis was better when Rayo found the goal that equalized the tie. Baby made his violent strike shine with a free kick on the edge of the area and made the Verdiblanco snooze pay dearly for much of the match. Only the jug of cold water woke up Pellegrini’s hosts, who were able to solve the problem with a shot by Fekir that met the soft hands of Luca Zidane. Balliu saved the French goalkeeper on the goal line and when the fight already seemed headed for extra time, the shooting instinct of Borja Iglesias appeared and the fortune for Catena to deflect a ball from Canales towards the far post, where the Panda executed, rescuing Betis towards its fifth Cup final.