4 December 2006, by Sean Gillen

Portuguese trio in action as Atletico continue rise

Real Betis 0-1 Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid moved into fourth place in La Liga after a narrow victory over struggling Real Betis at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera on Saturday. Martin Galletti got the all-important goal, although goalkeeper Leo Franco was the real hero, saving two second half penalties to keep his side in the lead.

The visitors started well, and had their first clear-cut chance inside the opening five minutes. Betis goalkeeper Pedro Contreras made a mess of his catch from a corner and Fernando Torres’ header was goal bound, until Melli cleared off the line.

Shortly afterwards Torres found Argentine Martin Galletti on the inside right of the penalty area, and the winger drove a shot across the fact of goal, but Contreras atoned for his previous mistake with a smart low save.

Although it was a relatively even contest, with both Sobis and Juanito having headed chances for Betis, Atletico always looked the more dangerous side in the final third, and Los Rojiblancos took the lead on 33 minutes. Some good build-up resulted in Maniche driving a ball into the box and Sergio Aguero flicked it up in the direction of Galletti, who produced a fantastic volleyed finish from ten yards.

Goalscorer Galletti then almost returned the favour, crossing from the right for Aguero to glance a header narrowly wide. Atletico captain Torres then missed two good opportunities before the break. A raking ball from right-back Giourkas Seitaridis found Torres onside in behind the Betis backline, but the forward took a heavy touch before being closed down by Contreras. Torres, in disappointing form of late, then failed to make good contact with a header from Pernia’s cross.

Betis began the second half with good attacking intent, and were awarded the chance to equalise from the penalty spot just five minutes into the second period. Sobis outfoxed Atletico defender Luis Perea with a drag-back, drawing a foul from the Colombian. Edu stepped up to take the kick, but Leo Franco made a good save low to his left, before also stopping the rebound from Juanito.

The home side were awarded a second penalty on 67 minutes, although the decision to penalise Seitaridis for a shove on Fernando appeared harsh. However, Leo Franco again denied Betis, stopping Fernando’s poor kick, and the forward should really have scored the rebound but instead headed wide.

Portuguese midfielder Costinha was introduced in place of Torres, and Atletico improved after his introduction, with Maniche seeing more of the ball and becoming a bigger influence in midfield. Luccin shot from long range for Atletico, as the game began to drift towards full time with few chances created.

Betis had one final opportunity to salvage a draw in the final minute of the match. The otherwise impressive Atletico defender Ze Castro lost his man, Dani, as a ball was played over the top, but the Betis forward fired over when he should have at least hit the target.

Atletico now sit in the Champions League qualifying places, having embarked on a five-game unbeaten domestic run. Next up for the men from the capital is a home clash with Espanyol on Sunday, 10th.

Real Betis:
Contreras, Romero, Melli, Juanito, Rivas (Rivera, 78), Arzu, Assuncao, Maldonado (Dani, 51), Edu, Capi (Fernando, 59), Sobis
Yellow Cards: Assuncao (77), Dani (85)

Atletico Madrid:
Leo Franco, Seitaridis, Lopez, Ze Castro, Perea, Pernia, Luccin, Maniche, Galletti (Jurado, 70), Aguero (Mista, 61), Torres (Costinha, 74)
Yellow Cards: None

Goals:
[0-1] Galletti, 33