Excessive punishment for Betis in 1-1 draw against Alaves

The La Liga match between Betis and Alaves was an intriguing prospect. Although the former are not where they’d like to be in the table, they are implementing a very interesting football philosophy. Alaves, meanwhile, are one of the surprises of the season as they fight for European qualification.

The tactical analysis of the game shows an unfortunate draw, especially for Betis, who showed the intent to grab all three points throughout the whole game. Alaves showed some glimpses of football but after managing to equalise, they focused on holding onto their point. Defensively they performed accordingly and accomplished their objective.

First half: Betis superiority overshadowed by inspired Maripan

Betis started the game with a 3-4-3 setup in line with the style that Quique Setien has been coaching into his team. They employed wide players in attack, constant use of both wings and careful but effective elaboration through possession.

Meanwhile, Alaves started with a 4-5-1 with the clear objective of populating the middle of the pitch to cut the build-up creativity of Betis, while using Jonathan Calleri as a pivotal player when attacking.

Their respective attacking tactics were initially, and during most of the first half, as expected. Betis were very patient to pass the ball in the middle of the field, looking for spaces to open. When space was found to advance forward, they would transition to a faster and wider game that allowed them to find several 2v1 situations on the wings.

Unfortunately many were wasted on bad decisions. Their attacks would usually have four or even five lines of attack, with Lo Celso, Jese, Lainez and Guardado pushing forward, most of the time supported by former Real Madrid midfielder Canales and Barragan.