Very weak Betis loses to Dinamo Zagreb | Football | Kinds of sports
A powerless Betis, without football and without a soul, deservedly lost to Dinamo Zagreb in their debut in the Conference League, the third continental competition Betis have entered since their Europa League exit. Manuel Pellegrini’s league-reliable side have shown that playing in Europe is not their thing, where they reap one disappointment after another. Dinamo Zagreb won with virtually no shots on target thanks to a Chadi Riad penalty in the 75th minute, scored by Petkovic, the only interesting element of the Croatian team, a historically down team that had gained a very good lap advantage. The lack of competitiveness really struck Betis, who only reacted in the final stages of the match, after the Croatian goal. Willian Jose’s free-kick hit the post in the 88th minute was the green and white’s best chance. The disappointment was highlighted in green and white. Playing like this, it is almost impossible for them to come back in the return match, which will take place next week in Zagreb. Having competed in the Champions League, UEFA Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup and Europa League, Betis made a disappointing debut in the Conference League.
Everything at Benito Villamarin was very cold. The atmosphere, the intensity of Betis and the spirit of the players during the Conference League competition seemed more like a punishment than an illusion to the Betis team members. The first half for Betis turned out to be very weak: the Andalusian team played on their feet, without emotion, without overflowing, without crossing the line and without adding speed to the game. In this way it is impossible to defeat a European opponent. Despite the fact that Dinamo Zagreb, a historical player in continental football, is not going through its best moment. They are third in their league, six points behind leaders Rijeka. In that frustrating first half, Betis had only the obvious option. It was Fekir’s shot, which Nevistic very successfully parried for a corner. The rest was pure exercise in helplessness. Football is difficult to play on foot.
Pellegrini tried to change the fate of the match with three changes in the 58th minute: Bellerin, Roca and Diao came on, but the global apathy with which Betis approached the match remained unchanged. In an isolated game, Dynamo earned a penalty from Chadi Riad, about which VAR warned Ukrainian referee Nikolai Balakin. Petkovic scored and Dinamo Zagreb gained an unexpected advantage. Betis tried and had two clear options from Chadi Riad and Willian Jose to at least level the scores. It was not possible to equalize the score, and even Pezzella received a yellow card for protesting, which will prevent him from playing in the return match in Croatia. A disappointing debut for Betis in the strange competition of the Conference League, but European competition ultimately required much more. Dinamo Zagreb was not even injured.
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