Real Betis - Rayo Vallecano finish 1-1 after two long VAR checks and a 14-minute stoppage
In a match punctured by checks and stoppages, real betis - rayo vallecano ended 1-1 after Bakambu opened the scoring and Isi levelled before two lengthy VAR interventions produced a total of 14 minutes of added time.
Real Betis - Rayo Vallecano saw early Betis pressure and a late first-half equaliser
Bakambu started the game strongly and, after an early steal that threatened Batalla, converted the rebound from a Ruibal cross that Batalla had only partially cleared to put Betis ahead. Ratiu set up the equaliser just before half-time, breaking past Abde and delivering a cross that Isi simply pushed in to make it 1-1 at the end of the first half (42nd minute).
Two long VAR reviews changed the rhythm of the game
The second half was dominated by interruptions. Around the 48th minute Cucho Hernández fell on the edge of the area and the match was stopped for about five minutes; that spell included a long VAR check in which Martínez Munuera ultimately ruled the action a foul outside the box, with one account noting the referee was not even called to the monitor. A second, more controversial intervention arrived in the 86th minute when Valentín cleared the ball and then collided with Ratiu, appearing to catch his ankle near the goal line; Pablo González Fuertes at the VAR summoned the review, which lasted more than four minutes before Martínez Munuera again kept the on-field decision and chose not to send Valentín off.
Late drama, missed chances and extended stoppage time
The prolonged reviews led to 14 minutes of added time in which Antony first had a gilt-edged chance in the first half (35th minute) after a Bakambu pass — he dribbled past Batalla but his shot was forced wide — and then again in the closing stages, when he missed a 2-1 opportunity near the 90th minute and later had a chance that Batalla spectacularly saved in the extended stoppage, leaving Antony in tears at the final whistle.
Accounts differ on the overall length of the game: one noted the match lasted 104 minutes, while another described it stretching to almost 120 minutes between the two added periods.
Injuries, rotations and coaching reactions
Pellegrini kept the same starting eleven that had beaten Mallorca in the previous round and fielded Bakambu up front; Bakambu scored but could not continue into the second half after suffering a strong blow to the thigh, and Ruibal also suffered a similar problem. Cucho returned to action but was not considered ready for a full 45 minutes and came on in the second half.
Pellegrini criticised the VAR interruptions as an unnecessary interference and praised the referee for going to the monitor and not changing his decision, while Íñigo Pérez said he would not speak about the refereeing. Betis defender Llorente publicly thanked Isi for telling the referee the collision involving Valentín was a play of inertia and questioned why VAR had intervened without clear camera evidence.
Álvaro García, marking a record number of appearances for Rayo, said the team must keep picking up away points and praised the squad's intensity and competitiveness. Isi noted that the team had "four points from six" and that the second half showed their good run of form.
What this result means and what comes next
The draw halted Betis's three-game winning streak and left them with a point that Pellegrini judged as one apiece; Rayo earned a point that one report called useful in their fight to avoid relegation. The match at La Cartuja took place on a sunny spring afternoon and closed live coverage with a match chronicle by Daniel Lagos and a fuller report by Miguel Ángel Rodríguez.
Betis now head into the derby in the coming days, and Rayo face a period of league fixtures leading up to their Conference tie, with both clubs turning attention to those next confirmed commitments.
