Lucas Vazquez, a stalwart for Real Madrid, was furious when he was replaced in the goalless La Liga draw against Real Betis on March 5 at the Benito Villamarin. Before their match on matchday 24, Madrid was ten points behind leaders Barcelona and needed a win to stay in the hunt for the title.
But Betis didn’t give up and held the holders to a goalless draw. The outcome enabled the Blaugrana, who won 1-0 against Valencia, to take a nine-point lead at the top. At Betis, Vazquez was one of Madrid’s most impressive players. He made his first start since January 11.
He completed two dribbles, created a chance, completed 48 passes with an accuracy rate of 81%, and won each of his four tackles. In spite of his good performance, Carlo Ancelotti decided to substitute Daniel Carvajal for him in the 59th minute. Football Espana noted that the Spaniard appeared visibly dissatisfied with the substitution.
Before throwing away the jacket that was given to him, he booted the bench, which is the sitting area. However, it is possible that Vazquez was dissatisfied with the team’s overall performance rather than Ancelotti’s.
The coach had every right to hooking Vazquez because he hadn’t played in nearly two months. Vazquez expressed his disappointment with the outcome of the game afterward, but he insisted that the All Whites would fight for the title until the very end.
Vazquez stated, through Marca:
“The team accomplished enough to gain more from this; We are dissatisfied because we have lacked some success in the final stretch, the last pass to have clearer scoring chances. March is here; We are aware of its complexity and will fight until the end because we truly believe we can reverse it.
The draw on Sunday marked Real Madrid’s second straight La Liga draw. On their previous home match against ten-man Atletico Madrid, they were held to a 1-1 draw.
After Betis’ draw, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had a lengthy conversation with Ancelotti:
Following Sunday’s goalless draw at Betis, the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, reportedly met Carlo Ancelotti. It has been alleged that the discussion delayed Ancelotti’s press conference following the match.
The result extended Los Merengues’ winless streak to three games across all competitions, which included a 1-0 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinal’s first leg. The aforementioned source claims that Madrid’s 3-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final in January was the catalyst for Perez’s conflict with Ancelotti.
Following last week’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid, reports claimed that Perez was unconvinced by the Real Madrid manager’s team selection, escalating the tension between the two.