Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano ended the year with a draw in their meeting at the Benito Villamarín. The hosts missed several important opportunities in the second half, with Vitor Roque and Juanmi failing to get past opposing goalkeeper Batalla in two favorable situations, when they could have scored the second goal.
De Frutos also had an opportunity at the end of the match, but sent a shot high that could have given his team the victory.
Isco Alarcón made his return as a starter after more than seven months following an injury suffered in May in Las Palmas.
In the first part of the match, he was the one who created the best chances, particularly in the first minute, when he received the ball and allowed Vitor Roque to attempt a header which Batalla deflected into a corner with great difficulty.
In the 35th minute, the Malagueño converted a penalty won by Vitor Roque, thus giving Betis the lead. Despite dominating the match, after that initial opportunity, the team was unable to use the Rayo goalkeeper again. After a difficult first ten minutes, the guests managed to find a rhythm, but created little danger for Vieites' goal, apart from a goal by Embarba disallowed for offside shortly after the half hour of play.
Shortly after the start of the second half, Isi surprised everyone with a 30-metre shot that hit the left post of the goal defended by Fran Vieites, changing the flow of the match. From that moment, the game became a continuous exchange of chances, but the verdiblancos again showed difficulty in finishing. In addition to the sensational errors of Vítor Roque and Juanmi, Perraud, Bakambu and Fornals also had important chances to score, many of them created by Lo Celso, who raised his level of play after the exit of Isco, who until then moment had been rather invisible.
The substitutions made by Pellegrini, with Assane and Fornals coming on first, followed by Juanmi and Bakambu, did not bear fruit. In fact, only the first managed to make the difference thanks to his speed, while the other three wasted very clear scoring opportunities that could have changed the fate of the match.
