UD Las Palmas rounded off pre-season with defeat in the final of the 64th annual Trofeo Carranza (4-0). Real Betis made the most of fresh players to dominate Las Palmas from the first minute with controlled football and intricate passing, showing what a solid and experienced side they are. Manolo Jiménez put out a different starting line-up from the one that won the semi-final against Cádiz CF yesterday, featuring four reserve team players.
Betis’ play was true to the style of manager Setién, with long periods of possession coming out from the back, probing to find gaps in Las Palmas’ defence. Las Palmas held up well in the centre, playing with order and criteria as they looked to put Betis’ under pressure. The yellows were able to take the shine off Betis because they played with more freedom than they did against Cádiz and tried to get forward more quickly with the ball.
The first chance of the game fell to Las Palmas, the trophy holders. Sacko broke forward, playing the ball through to Benito who hit a first time cross towards the penalty spot. Edu Espiau only managed to hit a weak shot into the hands of Pau López. Betis scored the first goal of the final somewhat luckily, as Loren’s shot was deflected off a defender and past the Las Palmas goalkeeper. Their first shot was their first goal.
In the second half Betis took control of the match. Las Palmas tried not to get rattled by their opponents’ possession play in midfield. Nauzet Pérez (min. 65) stretched out his hand to block Betis’ second goal, then another save by the Las Palmas goalkeeper kept a header by Loren out, just as the Betis fans were about to celebrate.
Erik Expósito was unable to punish a mistake by goalkeeper Pau López (m. 70) as he came out with the ball. Two minutes later, Mantovani hit a shot into the body of the Betis goalkeeper. Betis then made them pay the price for this lack of sharpness in front of goal. Canales made the score 2-0 with a carefully placed shot from outside the area. The Cantabria-born midfielder then made the most of this fine spell with a third goal for his side. Finally, Betis rounded off their night’s work with a fourth goal against a rather bewildered Las Palmas, to leave a rather flattering 4-0 scoreline.
MATCH FACTS:
(4) REAL BETIS BALOMPIÉ: Pau López, Javi García, Canales, Boudebouz, Sidnei, Loren, Guardado, Mandi, William, Francis and Junior. Manager: Quique Setién. Substitutes: Joel Robles (ps), Zou Fedal, Sergio León, Sanabria, Inui, Darko, Bartra and Edgar.
(0) UD LAS PALMAS: Nauzet Pérez, Christian Rivera, Deivid, Galarreta, Mantovani, Benito, Dani Castellano, Sacko, Edu Espiau, Fabio and Diego Parras. Substitutes: Raúl Fernández, Vicente Gómez, David García, Rubén Castro, Rafa Mir, Momo, Álvaro Lemos, Fidel, Javi Castellano, Juan Cala, Josep (ps), Erik Expósito and Josemi. Manager: Manolo Jiménez.
GOALS: 1-0, min. 42: Loren. 2-0, min. 74: Canales. 3-0, min. 76: Canales. 4-0, min. 79: Darko.
REFEREE: Domínguez Fernández, aided by linesmenOrtiz Calderón and López López.
INCIDENTS: Final of the 64th annual Carranza Trophy, held at the Ramón de Carranza stadium, in front of 7,000 fans.
