Real Betis 1-2 Villarreal Player Ratings: Brave Yellow Submarines break Manuel Pellegrini’s unbeaten run with a clinical display

Real Betis suffered a 2-1 loss to Villarreal in their La Liga clash on Sunday (13 April, 2025) at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. Despite the hosts taking an early lead through Aitor Ruibal’s powerful goal, the Yellow Submarines made a comeback through Thierno Barry and Ayoze Perez’s goals, helping them leap over Real Betis to take up the fifth place in the La Liga table.

The hosts started the game with a lot of intensity and pace, running hard at the Villarreal backline. They took the lead in the third minute itself, after a botched clearance was latched on by Aitor Ruibal, who smashed a brilliant volley into the back of the net. The Yellow Submarine started to slowly get back into the game, moving the ball forward much better.

In the 15th minute, Jesus Rodriguez tricked his way into the box, but his attempt was saved well by Luiz Junior. The visitors, however, scored an equalizer in the 26th minute as Barry capitalized on some chaos in the box to power a shot into the back of the net.

Antony dribbled into the box in the 30th minute, but his shot was saved. Isco also had an ambitious overhead kick attempt go over the bar in the 37th minute. Villarreal forward Ayoze Perez had some big chances in the 40th and 43rd minute marks, with his shot for the first chance going wide before his second attempt was blocked off.

It was Villarreal who began the second half in blistering fashion, as they took the lead in the 48th minute thanks to Perez’s powerful finish from close range. They almost made it 3-1 two minutes later as Dani Parejo struck the post. Real Betis tried their best to push against their opponents, with substitute Cedric Bakumbu managing a weak header at the goalkeeper in the 64th minute.

There was some controversy with a penalty call for Real Betis four minutes later after Giovanni Lo Celso went down on the ground, but VAR overturned the decision. Isco had a huge chance to score the equalizer in the 72nd minute, only to shockingly put a simple chance wide. The hosts kept pushing for an equalizer, but failed to get past the Villarreal backline, with Real Betis’ seven-match unbeaten run being snapped by a brave performance from the visitors. Here are the Real Betis vs Villarreal Player Ratings.

Real Betis Player Ratings

GK – Adrian – 4/10

Adrian had a pretty poor outing in his goal. He couldn’t track the ball sharply enough for Barry’s goal and was caught in a bad position for Villarreal’s second. Couldn’t make a single save.

RB – Aitor Ruibal – 7/10

The Spaniard had a stunning start to the game, scoring an amazing goal from outside the box. Defensively, however, he had a shaky game as he struggled to win duels or win back the ball enough times.

CB – Diego Llorente – N/R

Llorente had some problems dealing with the pace of the Villarreal forwards before having to be substituted in the first half because of an injury.

CB – Marc Batra – 5.5/10

Batra made eight clearances in the game, getting in some nice positions to frustrate the visitors. But he couldn’t hold together a sturdy enough backline, giving the visitors quite a few chances.

LB – Romain Perraud – 6/10

Perraud put in quite a lot of work on the left, covering a lot of ground. He made some important challenges, but could’ve perhaps done better for Perez’s goal. Had a late header go over the bar.

CM – Pablo Fornals – 5/10

Fornals moved the ball around nicely, being quite efficient. However, he struggled with the pressing and defensive work, not being able to win enough battles and struggling against Villarreal’s intensity.

CM – Johnny Cardoso – 5/10

Cardoso was sharp in moving forward with the ball, completing four dribbles in the game. He did, however, struggle with the defensive duties and gave the opposition players too much room. Could’ve done better to block Barry’s shot before his goal.

RW – Antony – 6/10

Antony was sharp and efficient with his passing, linking up nicely with accurate passes. He was able to dart into some promising areas, but couldn’t create anything big for his side. Had a shot saved in the first half.

AM – Isco – 6/10

Isco had a pretty forgettable outing for his side. Despite making a lot of passes and creating a few chances, his work in front of the goal was woeful. Missed an open-goal chance in the second half that hurt his side.

LW – Jesus Rodriguez – 5/10

The young Spaniard was sloppy with his passing, giving the ball away quite a few times. Had a few efforts on target, but failed to make a major impact.

CF – Juan Hernandez – 6/10

A bullish figure for the defenders, winning many duels and linking up nicely. Had a few shots, but couldn’t test the goalkeeper enough.

SUB – Natan – 4.5/10

Natan struggled to help fill in for Llorente properly. He was bamboozled for the second goal, failing to mark Perez before his strike. Did a nice job with his passing, not so much with his distribution.

SUB – Giovanni Lo Celso – 7/10

Lo Celso was a bright spark after coming on, significantly amplifying his side’s creative threat. He created four chances for his side, but unfortunately, his delivery did not prove fruitful.

SUB – Cedric Bakumbu – 5/10

Failed to add any spark in the frontline for his side and couldn’t get to the end of any chances.

SUB – Sergi Altimira – 5.5/10

Helped move his side forward nicely with his passing, but couldn’t create much.

SUB – William Carvalho – 6/10

Helped his side keep away the counter-attacking threat.

Manager – Manuel Pellegrini – 5.5/10

Pellegrini could not help his side maintain their winning run because he was tactically overwhelmed. He did not shape his side strongly enough to keep away Villarreal’s counterattack and set-piece threat, causing them to concede from those situations. A bit unlucky ot see his players miss all those chances, but his substitutes didn’t work either.

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Villarreal Player Ratings

GK – Luiz Junior – 7/10

The Villarreal goalkeeper was very sharp in his goal. Could not do anything about the amazing opening goal, but he came up with four crucial saves to frustrate the hosts.

RB – Kiko – 7.5/10

The experienced full-back dominated the right side, neutralizing the threat of the young Rodriguez. He made many key possession recoveries and clearances, not allowing the hosts to create much through his side.

CB – Juan Foyth – 7/10

Foyth had a shaky start to the game, but got better as it wore on. His positioning for the majority of the game was really good, allowing him to make 11 clearances and five blocks to help his side get a result.

CB – Logan Costa – 8/10

The 24-year-old was extremely proactive on the defensive end, helping his side neutralize Real Betis’ free-flowing attacking football. He popped up in the right areas, time and again, making four tackles and winning seven duels in an impressive display.

LB – Sergi Cardona – 6/10

Cardona had quite a bit of trouble against Antony, not being able to keep him fully neutralized. He also couldn’t close down Ruibal closely enough for his goal.

RW – Yeremy Pino – 6.5/10

Pino helped out defensively with some rigid work, but his work going forward was pretty awful. Couldn’t create anything noteworthy for his side before being taken off.

CM – Santi Comesana – 7/10

Comesana was pretty rugged in the midfield line, closing down the spaces for the Real Betis midfielders well. He made four possession recoveries and won quite a few key duels to help his side prosper.

CM – Dani Parejo – 8.5/10

The experienced Spaniard ran the show for his side and was almost untouchable in the midfield. He was excellent with his passing, completing 100% of passes. Won quite a few key duels and produced a brilliant assist for Perez’s goal.

LW – Alfonso Pedraza – 6/10

Pedraza was focused more on the defensive work than going forward, but did his job admirably. He won all his duels and helped his side maintain a nice shape to frustrate the hosts.

CF – Ayoze Perez – 8/10

Perez was a menacing factor against his former side. He timed his runs nicely into the final third, seeing a few nice efforts denied in the first half. But made up with a great finish for the winning goal.

CF – Thierno Barry – 7.5/10

Barry was a thorn for the defenders with his clever movement in the final third. He linked up nicely with his teammates and popped up in the right area to score the equalizer.

SUB – Denis Suarez – 6.5/10

Suarez produced a brave defensive effort in his outing, winning all his duels and helping his side get the job done.

SUB – Nicolas Pepe – 5/10

Couldn’t do much on the counter-attacks.

SUB – Arnau Sola – 5/10

Had a quiet little cameo.

SUB – Willy Kambwala – 6/10

Helped his side get the job done.

SUB – Eric Bailly – N/R

Proactive with his defensive work late on.

Manager – Marcelino Garcia – 7.5/10

Marcelino ensured that his side did not panic after conceding early on and fought their way back spectacularly. His smart midfield shape and work on the turnovers helped his side get the better of Real Betis. Ensured that his side was defensively strong enough to hold their lead, and his substitutes did their job well too.

Sportsdunia’s Man of the Match goes to Dani Parejo.

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