Real Madrid‘s LaLiga Santander season drew to a close as they played out a goalless draw at home to Real Betis on Friday evening.
Carlo Ancelotti made no secret about having one eye on next weekend’s Champions League final against Liverpool in Paris in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, and the Italian fielded a full-strength side on Friday.
His XI chosen against Betis could well be identical to the team who take on Liverpool.
But the night’s biggest story really came in the second half, with Marcelo being substituted on for Ferland Mendy for what is expected to be his final home game for Real Madrid.
The Brazilian will leave the club as one of their all-time greats, having spent well over a decade in the capital and helping Los Blancoss to several trophies in his time at the club.
MARCA
The first half had a very ‘end of season’ feel to it. Real Madrid‘s priority was to ensure all of their players avoided picking up any unnecessary injuries, while Betis were never really capable of hurting their hosts despite some half-chances.
Los Blancos improved after the break and Karim Benzema came close, but the cooling break interrupted any momentum that they had been building and things slowed down again. Benzema had another chance afterwards, but that was about as good as it got.
Real Madrid finish the season, then, with 86 points from their 38 games. They did slow down considerably after wrapping up the title in April.
Betis are fifth on 65, two behind Sevilla’s 67 and three clear of Real Sociedad.
Marca
