Real Betis – Valencia: Pellegrini’s Real Betis Defeat ‘Bordalás-Ball’ to Win the Copa del Rey (1-1)

It took extra time and penalties for Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis to overcome a steadfast Valencia side. Valencia’s conservative approach (and the woodwork) kept them in the match, though a miss from Yunus Musah in the penalty shootout would end up being the factor that saw them fall short of the title.

Tactical analysis and match report by Charlie Tuley.

Pellegrini only rotated half of his team in Real Betis’ midweek fixture prior to the Copa del Rey final, and the Champions League hopefuls fell to Elche after a late goal from Tete Morente. Real Betis were in a poor run of form coming into the final, having only won three matches from their last ten in all competition, including a 3-2 aggregate loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.

Pellegrini lined up his men in his favored 4-2-3-1 formation for the match against Valencia. Claudio Bravo got the start in goal, whilst Héctor Bellerín, Germán Pezzella, Marc Bartra, and Álex Moreno made up the defense ahead of him. William Carvalho and Guido Rodríguez formed Real Betis’ double pivot, Two central midfielders next to each other. and Juanmi, Nabil Fekir, and Sergio Canales made up the midfield three ahead of them. Borja Iglesias led the attacking line for Real Betis.

Like Real Betis, Valencia came into the cup final in poor form, with José Bordalás’ men having only won one match in their last six games in all competitions. Unlike their opponents, Bordalás rested nearly his entire starting eleven in Valencia’s midweek loss to Villarreal. In fact, Carlos Soler was the only player to start against Real Betis who also started the . . .