A late free-kick from Dani Ceballos gave an injury-depleted Real Madrid a late victory at Real Betis, the midfielder’s former club.
The Seville-native joined Los Blancos in a €20m deal from Betis in the summer of 2017 and his free-kick three minutes from time won the game for the visitors.
Marcelo was dropped by Madrid and Isco was surprisingly an unused substitute despite the visitors having eight first-team absentees, which was added to with Karim Benzema’s injury just before the break.
By that stage, Luka Modric had opened the scoring for Madrid with a well-placed finish into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Betis had almost 75% possession throughout the match but failed to create many clear cut-opportunities but did equalise midway through the second half.
Sergio Canales ran through on goal and forced his effort past Keylor Navas, with the goal awarded following a VAR review for a possible offside.
However, Madrid won it late on through Ceballos’s set-piece, leaving home goalkeeper Pau Lopez flat-footed.
