Real out of breath on the La Liga track

In his pre-match press conference, Carlo Ancelotti insisted Real had no attacking problems and reiterated Real's five goals against Liverpool in the Champions League.

In the match, the Italian coach kept the explosive striker at Anfield, with the trio of Vinicius, Karim Benzema and Rodrygo. However, the system did not maintain its sharpness as Real controlled the ball 63%, shot 15 times with five on target, but failed to score.

In the first half, the home team even held the ball 61% but missed the goal all five times - compared to two of the opponents. In fact, Real found the net of Betis thanks to Benzema's free kick in the 12th minute. But after going to the border to review the video, referee Cesar Soto determined that Benzema took the free kick to touch Antonio Rudiger's hand standing at the fence, before entering the net.

In the second half, Real continued to dominate, but what they could do was just a long shot to put the ball in the position of Federico Valverde's Betis, Rodrygo's close-range buffer or a goal. column by Dani Ceballos.

Real was empty in the last two matches in all competitions, equal to the previous 39 matches. In the middle of the week, they did not even hit the target once in the first leg of the King's Cup semi-final, losing 0-1 to Barca at the Bernabeu.

After the game, Ancelotti was disappointed when Real squandered at least four obvious opportunities, played inefficiently and did not choose the best possible solution. The 63-year-old coach also denied that Real had no chance to defend the La Liga title, despite being widened by Barca to nine points, and will fight to the end.

The royal team will have a full week of rest and then return to the Bernabeu home to receive Espanyol in the 25th round of La Liga on March 11, before rematching Liverpool in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round on March 15.