Rodrygo‘s first goal of the season was enough to maintain Real Madrid‘s perfect LaLiga Santander record, as they held on for a 2-1 victory over Real Betis on Saturday.
Both sides entered the match undefeated after the first three match days, but it was Carlo Ancelotti‘s men who came out on top in what was a spirited encounter.
It took Real Madrid less than 10 minutes to open the scoring. David Alaba‘s ball over the top fell to the feet of Vinicius, who beat the offside trap and then fired over a helpless Rui Silva.
Betis‘ chances were dealt a blow soon after when Nabil Fekir was forced off, with Luiz Henrique brought on as his replacement.
Nevertheless, Manuel Pellegrini‘s men showed they were more than up to the challenge by levelling the score after 17 minutes.
Borja Iglesias flicked a quick throw into the path of Sergio Canales, who fired home past Thibault Courtois, with the ex-Real Madrid forward choosing not to celebrate.
Real Madrid grew into the match from there, with Betis happy to pose a threat on the counter, though the two sides headed into the half level.
Karim Benzema saw an effort cleared off the line minutes after the restart, only for the play to be called back for a handball.
Real Madrid’s RodrygoAP
The deciding moment came in the 65th minute when just a minute after coming on, Federico Valverde burst into the box and found Rodrygo.
The Brazilian made no mistake from near the penalty spot, firing home his first of the season to the delight of the home fans.
Betis tried to claw back by introducing Joaquin. Although the 41-year-old managed to find space in-between the Real Madrid lines, an equaliser just wasn’t in the cards, with the Seville side suffering their first defeat of the campaign.
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