September brings a final – AS.com

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On Thursday, in Las Palmas, Vinicius attempted five dribbles and was unsuccessful in any of them. Something like this has not happened as a starter for Madrid for almost four years, in a derby against Atlético. Against Valladolidonly overflowed in 18% of the attempts. Ancelotti has substituted him in all four games of the season.

In his seven years at PSG, Mbappé had always scored in the league in his first three games. Last year, at this stage, he had already scored five goals in the French championship. Until the start of the fourth matchday he was the player with the most shots, but he still had no chance. The poor performance of the two great stars of the white team extends to almost the entire squad at the start of this season to the point that todayagainst Betis (Follow the match live on AS.com)is already playing under threat: On Sunday he was seven points behind Barça. The finals begin.

The setback at the Insular suggests that Ancelotti will retrace his steps. Carvajal, Arda Güler and Rodrygo will return to the starting eleven at the expense of Lucas Vázquez, Modric and Brahim. The gala team with the mission of a change of defensive attitude, the main problem of the team, according to Ancelotti. The data seems to support him, because in passes and possession the records are very similar to those of last season.

A new defense

He will face a Betis that is radically different from last season, not because of the eight new signings, but because core players have left the team.. To start with, the starting defence is almost complete. Abner, Chadi Riad, Pezzella, and Miranda have left the team. And with them, Guido, Ayoze, Willian José and, on the last day of the transfer market, Fekir, signed by the Arab side Al-Jazira. The five million transfer fee he leaves and the 14 million in fees he saves have allowed the club to recover Lo Celso. The first option was Ceballos. The player was willing to do it, but Betis could not pay the 20 million euros that Madrid was asking for, who also did not like to shorten an already short squad even further. Lo Celso, in any case, will not be back in time for the match at the Bernabéu.

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Who Vitor Roque, a failed signing from Barça who will have a second life at Betis, will make his debut. The Catalan club bought him for a fixed fee of 30 million and 31 more in variables to counterbalance the signing of Endrick by Madrid. Given the financial difficulties, he managed to sign him up in the winter market, but it didn’t work out. He only played two games as a starter, out of a total of 16, and scored two goals. Xavi didn’t like him and he didn’t convince Flick this summer either. In fact, His loan to Betis includes purchase options for 25 and 27.5 million over the next two seasons.

Vitor Roque is an all-or-nothing bet for the green-and-white club, which had seen its attack as a very attractive market. In fact, In three of the four games, Pellegrini lined up Aitor Ruibal as a striker, who has played as a full-back or right winger throughout his career.

The last hours of the market were especially intense for Betis, although in the end fewer pieces were moved than expected.The club was unable to sell Rui Silva to Benfica and therefore did not sign Las Palmas goalkeeper and Betis youth player Álvaro Valles. And two players who were on the way out did not make it through. Assane Diao did not accept a loan move to Hoffenheim in Germany and Mallorca were ultimately unable to sign Rodri. Both are in the squad for the match against Madrid, although they have very little chance of being in the starting eleven.

Without Isco

Among those who miss it is Isco, who broke his fibula on May 16 in a match against Las Palmas and has not yet recovered. In identical circumstances is found Bakambúa winter signing who, on account of his participation in the African Cup and two injuries (he has not yet recovered from the second one), he was only able to play five games.

The third notable loss is that of Bartra, who suffered an Achilles tendon injury in October last year that kept him out of the competition for 319 days. He had already been in the first two league games, which ended in a draw for the Verdiblancos, but an overload leaves him out of the Bernabéu. Chimy Ávila, who had missed some training sessions due to a viral illness, will be able to return in time. The Argentine, a winter signing, has not yet found his feet at Betis.

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If the situation is already pressing for Madrid, recent history does not alleviate it. Betis have scored points in six of their last seven visits to the Bernabéu, with two wins and four draws. They only fell, by the narrowest of margins, in the 22-23. Pellegrini, on the other hand, has not fared so well, With Betis he has not been able to beat Madrid in six matches. However, his time at the Betis club has been a complete success. In his four seasons in charge, he has qualified the team for European competition. Now he has already secured a place in the group stage of the Conference League. In his only season at Madrid he earned 96 points in the League, insufficient to conquer her. The Alcorconazo, an early elimination in the Champions League against Lyon and a difficult relationship with Florentino Perez They made their stay very brief. In any case, their presence at the Bernabéu always generates excitement.

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