Antony aids Betis in exacting revenge against Atletico

Real Betis secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the latter's home ground on Sunday in La Liga, just three days following their heavy 5-0 loss to the same opponents in the Copa del Rey.

A goal from Antony during the opening half decided the match, allowing Betis to settle the score while positioning Atletico, who sit third, a full 13 points adrift of league frontrunners Barcelona after the Catalans defeated Mallorca on Saturday.

Sitting fifth, Betis maintained their drive for a top four spot, now four points behind Villarreal in fourth, despite having contested two additional fixtures compared to the Yellow Submarine.

Under Diego Simeone, Atletico advanced to the Copa del Rey semi finals with a commanding 5-0 triumph over Betis at the Andalusian club's venue on Thursday, yet this La Liga clash at the Metropolitano proved much more competitive.

"This loss is difficult to swallow coming after our strong performance in the cup, we did not match that level today," confessed Atletico's captain Koke to Movistar.

"They defended much more compactly... We created scant opportunities and they delivered an excellent display."

Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini introduced five alterations to the lineup that faltered in the prior match, and his players arrived in the Spanish capital intent on making a statement.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak thwarted an effort from Cedric Bakambu, while Betis custodian Alvaro Valles similarly repelled a shot from the out of sorts Julian Alvarez.

In the 28th minute, Betis opened the scoring courtesy of their star performer Antony, whose prompt attempt from 20 yards surprised the typically reliable Oblak at his near post.

This marked the Brazilian winger's 10th strike of the campaign in all tournaments and proved sufficient to secure the full points haul.

Simeone replaced Alvarez with Alexander Sorloth at the interval, but his squad failed to mount a comeback.

With 15 minutes remaining, Atletico thought they had equalised when Diego Llorente nodded Giuliano Simeone's delivery into his own goal, only for the effort to be ruled out as Antoine Griezmann was marginally offside and deemed to have influenced the play.

Late in the game, ex Atletico player Rodrigo Riquelme might have extended Betis's lead, but Oblak anticipated his lobbed attempt and claimed it comfortably.

"That outcome from the cup was extremely tough to accept... We needed to address numerous issues over these past two days," commented Betis midfielder Alvaro Fidalgo.

Second placed Real Madrid will face Valencia later on Sunday.