Portugalete v Real Betis Match Report 11/01 - Spanish Copa del Rey

In the ongoing Copa del Rey tournament, Portugalete played against Real Betis on January 11 in a match that was both exciting and pivotal. Betis, sponsored by online broker Easymarkets, won handily with a shutout score of 3 to 0. But much of the action was more intense than the score would suggest. Here's a quick look at the Copa del Rey tournament, the recent Betis-Portugalete game and final stats that made a difference.

What is the Copa Del Rey?

One of Europe's most prestigious football contests, the Copa del Rey is a yearly tournament held in Spain. It features a knock-out elimination system for competitors and is organized by the nation's Royal Spanish Football Federation. Since 1903, winners of the Copa go on to compete in the next season's important UEFA Europe League. Among all the national trophy tournaments in existence worldwide, the Copa del Rey is by far the most important in the eyes of fans and players. Until now, the team with the most wins in the Copa is Barcelona, who snagged its thirtieth trophy in 2018's final game against Seville.

Game Summary

In the first few minutes of the contest, Joaquín slammed it into the net for an early score as the crowd went wild. A few minutes later, Artabe got his first yellow card just before Tello was replaced. Later, Santamaría and Isuardi were both yellow-carded. With 48 minutes left to go, Betis scores its second goal and 25 minutes later closes the shutout with another score. Portugalete defended well but just seemed to fall apart at key points during the contest when their rivals had control of the ball and was near the net. The winners were solid throughout, both as defenders and on offense. Standout players were Morón, Moreno and Joaquín, who scored all of the winners' goals.

Stats That Made a Difference

In most football contests between high-level competitors, the stats tell the story. Among the dozens of important metrics to look at, especially in this contest, are offsides, yellow cards, saves, fouls, shots in total, shots on goal and, most importantly, ball possession percentage. Betis led in every essential statistical category, winning on crucial possession 81 to 19 percent, on shots by 16 to 9, on shots-on-goal by 5 to 3. Portugalete have far more fouls, racking up 21 to Betis's 11. The eventual victors won on saves by 4 to 2, with Portugalete having many more offsides, at 5 to 2, and yellow cards, at 3 to 1. There were no red cards in the game.

Many are wondering if this will be another big year for Betis, especially since Joaquín is having one of his better seasons. It's been 15 years since they lifted the trophy in this tournament, also aided that time by Joaquín, in a final game against Osasuna with a score of 2 to 1 in extra time. Last year's winner, Valencia, beat Barcelona by the same score, 2 to 1, but didn't require extra time to do so.

Portugalete v Real Betis Match Report 11/01 - Spanish Copa del Rey to SEC Sports Fan Forum

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