Real Betis 1-2 Atletico Madrid: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Rojiblancos Close Gap on Barcelona

Atletico Madrid reduced the gap to Barcelona atop La Liga to seven points with a hard-fought 2-1 win away at Real Betis on Sunday.

​It was the home side who started the stronger, with Zouhair Feddal seeing his header crash off the crossbar in a lively opening from the hosts. Despite being under pressure for the opening 34 minutes, a sudden breakaway left Alvaro Morata with the whole Betis half to run at goal, but the striker lacked composure and Joel Robles produced a stunning save to tip his effort onto the post.

With his first touches of the ball after coming on in the second half, Angel Correa capitalised on a dreadful error by Alex Moreno to present the winger with the chance to round Robles and put the visitors in front.

Marc Bartra fired a fierce effort over the bar before Sergio Canales struck the outside of the post with a daisy-cutter, but for all their efforts Betis were unable to break through a resilient Atletico side. The result was assured with six minutes left to play when Alvaro Morata's neat flick nutmegged Bartra and beyond Robles to seal the three points, and even Bartra's late consolation couldn't prevent Los Rojiblancos keeping within sight of La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Real Betis

Player Ratings​

Starting XI: Robles (7); Emerson (7), Feddal (7), Mandi (6), Moreno (5); Bartra (6), Fekir (7), Canales (6), Guardado (6), Joaquin (6); Garcia (6)

Substitutes: Borja (6), Lainez (7), Tello (N/A)

Atletico Madrid

Key Talking Point

A decent opening dissipated quickly for Simeone's men, with the home outfit coming on strong and dominating possession for much of the first half. On countless occasions they utilised their pace on the wing to devastating effect, with crosses being flung into the box that ​Atletico couldn't answer for. Thomas Lemar wasn't doing enough defensive work and Betis had far too much joy down the flanks.

That said, ​Morata wasted a fine opportunity to put his side in front against the run of play, but the kind of wastefulness that saw him shipped out of Chelsea came to the fore once more.

Correa showed him how it was done though, rounding Robles to put Simeone's side in front after a slight step up in performance in the second half. Pivotal to that was Thomas Partey's involvement, with the Ghanaian seeing more of the ball and having a greater influence on proceedings.

Having fallen behind the sides at the top of ​La Liga with just one win in their last four top-flight clashes, victory was crucial in keeping the gap between themselves and ​Barcelona to just seven points. It was far from a vintage performance, but the concentrated, solid outfit that Simeone has built doesn't always do things the pretty way. The only pretty part was Morata's cute finish, but otherwise, it was typical Atletico steel which secured the win.

Player Ratings 

Starting XI: Oblak (7); Trippier (7), Gimenez (6), Felipe (6), Lodi (7); Saul (6), Thomas (7*), Herrera (6), Lemar (5); Morata (5), Felix (6)

Substitutes: Correa (7), Llorente (N/A)

Star Man

More often than not, when Thomas Partey plays well, Atletico play well. In a match where they were starved of possession for large spells it was the Ghanaian midfielder who dragged his side through tough spells, driving with the ball and trying to open up space for his teammates to run into.

His performance was not without fault, but it became clearer, if it wasn't already, just how important he is in Diego Simeone's setup.

Looking Ahead

Both clubs will embark on their respective winter breaks now, with Atletico not back in action until 4 January, when they play host to Levante in La Liga. Meanwhile, Betis will return to league duties a day later, traveling to Alaves.