Fansided

5 bold La Liga predictions: Real Betis find scoring touch

By Benjamin Barkworth

GETAFE, SPAIN - OCTOBER 28: Hector Junior of Real Betis Balompie in action during the La Liga match between Getafe CF and Real Betis Balompie at Coliseum Alfonso Perez on October 28, 2018 in Getafe, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
GETAFE, SPAIN - OCTOBER 28: Hector Junior of Real Betis Balompie in action during the La Liga match between Getafe CF and Real Betis Balompie at Coliseum Alfonso Perez on October 28, 2018 in Getafe, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
MADRID, SPAIN – OCTOBER 30: Temporary coach of Real Madrid, Argentinian former player Santiago Solari, attends a press conference at the Ciudad Real Madrid facilities on October 30, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. Santiago Solari has been put in temporary charge of Real Madrid after Julen Lopetegui was sacked on October 29, 2018. Solari was the coach of Madrid’s B team, Castilla. (Photo by Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – OCTOBER 30: Temporary coach of Real Madrid, Argentinian former player Santiago Solari, attends a press conference at the Ciudad Real Madrid facilities on October 30, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. Santiago Solari has been put in temporary charge of Real Madrid after Julen Lopetegui was sacked on October 29, 2018. Solari was the coach of Madrid’s B team, Castilla. (Photo by Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images) /

1. Real Madrid’s struggles continue

Julen Lopetegui’s tenure has to come to an end, unsurprisingly, as the notoriously impatient Florentino Perez wielded the axe after a poor start. Real currently sit in ninth place with 14 points from 10 games, and they also lost to CSKA Moscow in their Champions League group. Alaves, Levante, Sevilla and Barcelona have already beaten them in the league while Lopetegui only won six of his 14 games in charge.

Replacing Zinedine Zidane was always going to be a hard task. The squad needed an overhaul desperately. The key players of the past few seasons are almost all over 30 and beginning to decline, and they struggled in the league last season even with Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo. To expect instant results from Lopetegui was probably unreasonable, but he’s paid the price.

dark. Next. 25 best club soccer teams of all time

Castilla manager Santiago Solari has taken over first-team duties as caretaker while the club looksfor a permanent replacement. He’s followed the same path as Zidane as a former player moving up from the B team, but he’s unlikely to come up with a short-term fix for the structural issues at the club. They’re having severe issues in front of goal after failing to properly replace Ronaldo and have a leaky defense led by an out-of-form Sergio Ramos. Marcelo and Raphael Varane’s recent injuries only add to their problems.

Valladolid may be one of the promoted sides, but they’ve been solid defensively with seven goals conceded in 10 games and are actually above Los Blancos in the table. They’re likely to frustrate their opponents and Real’s issues won’t suddenly disappear now that they’ve changed managers. If anything, they could get worse. Expect another tough game and more dropped points as the crisis continues.

Home/La Liga