April 25, (THEWILL) — Real Betis cancelled out Vinícius Júnior’s opener to hold Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at La Cartuja on Friday, leaving Barcelona with the opportunity to extend their LaLiga lead to 11 points.
The Brazil forward required fewer than 20 minutes to break the deadlock, stroking home the rebound after Álvaro Valles had parried Federico Valverde’s long-range drive. It was Vinícius’ 13th league goal of the campaign, and for long stretches of the first half, Betis struggled to threaten their opponents.
The visitors believed they had doubled their advantage when Kylian Mbappé converted from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s clipped cross, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside on Mbappé’s 100th competitive appearance for the club.
Andriy Lunin, deputising for the injured Thibaut Courtois, made three rapid saves in quick succession late in the first period to keep Real Madrid’s lead intact, including two stops to deny Antony.
Cucho Hernández, introduced at half-time, also tested the Ukrainian goalkeeper with a half-volley that required a fingertip stop.
Héctor Bellerín, the former Arsenal defender, struck in the fourth minute of added time to earn Betis a share of the points.
The right-back pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and guided a composed finish beyond Lunin to make it four home league meetings against Real Madrid without defeat.
The result leaves Manuel Pellegrini’s side in fifth position, six points clear of the clubs below them, while Real Madrid remain eight points adrift of Barcelona at the summit.
Barcelona now have the chance to push that advantage to 11 points if they win their next fixture.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
