Real Madrid were dealt a bitter blow in their hunt for this season’s La Liga title as they dropped two points in a 0-0 draw with Betis.
The result now means that Zinedine Zidane’s side sit two points behind city rivals Atletico Madrid in second, while Barcelona remain just three points off the capital side with two games in hand.
In a match that Madrid undoubtedly needed to win, the club were let down by a number of poor individual performances.
Real Madrid 0-0 Betis: Player Ratings, Match Statistics
❌ Karim Benzema: 6.1
With 21 games from 28 league games prior to Saturday night’s clash, few would have doubted that Karim Benzema had established himself as Real Madrid’s most important player this season. When it comes to scoring important goals, few come close to the Frenchman right now.
However, as was eventually bound to be the case, Benzema had something of an off day against Betis, with just one shot on target over the course of the entire match. And, so it seems, when the French striker is off form, so are the rest of his team.
While a club like Madrid should be able to call on a number of impressive players to win them a game like this, it seems as though Zidane’s side were all too reliant on Benzema saving the day with a late goal. Which never came.
❌ Rodrygo: 6.1
With Benzema unusually quiet in front of goal, Madrid desperately needed another forward to step up to the plate and put on a match-winning performance. Not for the first time this season, Rodrygo failed to do that.
Although the young Brazilian forward was perhaps the most pro-active of Madrid’s forward line, he proved time and time again that he lacked the clinical finishing to make a real difference for Zidane’s side.
Whether that was a chance midway through the first half that saw the forward run into the box and smash a shot towards the bottom left corner or a long-range shot in the second half that rattled off the crossbar, the young forward simply lacked the accuracy to win this game for his side.
❌ Marco Asensio: 6.5
If there is a specific reason for Benzema failing to score on Saturday night it may be down to the fact that the Frenchman was working off of scraps form much of the game. And that was largely down to Marco Asensio.
On at least three separate occasions the 25-year-old attacking midfielder tried to find a teammate in the Betis box with a cross and each and every time the ball landed at a defender. And for much of the game Asensio struggled to create chances for this side to such a degree that Zidane eventually gave up and pulled him off after 77 minutes.
Karim Benzema 
Marco Asensio 
Rodrygo 
Real Madrid 
Betis 
Atletico Madrid 
Barcelona 
