Real Betis

Ground: Estadio Benito Villamarin

Visits: 1

Date: 18th February 2018

Match: Real Betis - Real Madrid 3-5 (Primera División)

Attendance: 53 533

The biggest match on this trip was without a doubt Real Betis v Real Madrid. Kick-off at Estadio Benito Villamarin was at 20.45 and earlier in the day, KO 12.00, I attended the Segunda División game between Sevilla Atlético and Almeria. After that game I headed towards the city centre to have something to eat and drink. I actually ended up at a restaurant next to Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, the home of Sevilla FC. Being up at 05.45 I was starting to feel a bit tired and after my late lunch I went back to my hotel where I rested for a few hours. Estadio Benito Villamarin is situated in southwestern Sevilla and there is no metro station in that area. Going through my options, bus or commuter train, I eventually decided to by the C4-commuter train to Virgen el Rochio and from there I walked to the ground. Once at the ground you could feel the buzz of a big football match. I was outside Estadio Benito Villamarin some two hours before kick-off but the surrounding areas were already packed with fans. After a while the coach carrying the Real Madrid players showed up and they were given a hostile reception. Plenty of police protected them though and I guess those players are used to this kind of welcoming committee.

Estadio Benito Villamarin was opened in 1929 but the ground has been redeveloped several times since then. The latest addition was the new south stand which opened in time for the 2017/18 season. The ground nowadays has a capacity of around 58 000 but only the west stand is covered. My seat was in the second row from the top in the new stand and it was quite a climb to get there. Watching a La Liga game where the away team is Real Madrid or Barcelona is quite expensive. Real Betis charged between 75 and 150 Euros this evening. My ticket was a €75 Euro one and there were a few empty pockets on the main stand. I will most like never understand the pricing policies in Spain! Anyway, 53 533 was at Estadio Benito Villamarin this evening and what a game this turned out to be. Real Madrid made it 1-0 in the 11th minute but at half-time the home team had scored twice. 2-1 to Real Betis at the ground was buzzing with excitement. I don´t know what happened during the break but Real Madrid came out as a new team. 20 minutes into the second half they had scored three goals and it was all of a sudden 2-4. Real Betis made plenty of schoolboy errors and against players like Ronaldo etc you will get punished. In the 85th minute the home team pulled a goal back, 3-4 and an exciting climax to this encounter. No more goals for Real Betis though but in stoppage time Benzena scored to give Real Madrid a famous 5-3 victory. Sometime you get lucky with your chosen games and tonight was definitely one of those occasions. I was back at my hotel shortly before midnight and I quickly fell asleep. Final game on this trip is tomorrow, Getafe v Celta Vigo, and hopefully that will be a great game as well.

Estadio Benito Villamarin