Last February, Nabil Fekir, Manuel Pellegrini, Betis fans and La Liga fans in general received very bad news… An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee, followed by an operation, which deprived the team Andalusian of one of its very best elements and La Liga of one of its thrilling players. It must be said that since his arrival in Sevilla in 2019, the player trained at OL has formed a special bond with the club and its supporters. He was welcomed with open arms by the Sevillians, who looked after him and showed him an affection that very few players were entitled to. And he did well for them, having great seasons.
Fekir, to the great happiness of the Beticos, signed his return on November 4, being received by a huge ovation from Benito Villamarin. A few minutes of play, then another quarter of an hour on the pitch a few days later against Aris Limassol in the Europa League. Not enough to allow us to see the great Fekir again, but his return is timely. Without being in a bad dynamic either, Betis is going through somewhat complicated times. The results are far from bad – Manuel Pellegrini’s team is seventh – but shows some difficulties in the offensive sector. The absence of Fekir weighs, as does the departure of Canales, the other extremely talented player with this rather playmaker profile who made up a great duo with the Frenchman.
A return that will please
Isco has certainly arrived, and is such a hit that all of Spain wants him in the selection and he is considered by some as the best national player, but the void left by the two men mentioned above is logically impossible to fill alone. Especially since this season, Betis is fielding a team that plays a little more direct. The explosion of the nugget Diao, the arrival of Ayoze Pérez or the profile of players like Rodri Sanchez, Abde or Luiz Henrique, very focused on overflow and one-on-one, pushed Pellegrini to play a little more direct. This season, Betis is running at 51.8% possession, compared to 54% during the 2021/2022 financial year, Fekir’s last full season.
The xG figures, the famous expected goals, also point in this direction. This season, Betis is running at 1.49 xG per game, compared to 1.74 during the Frenchman’s last full season. Betis was also the third team in La Liga in this statistic, behind the ogres Real Madrid and Barça, while the Sevillians are eighth this season. The goals scored statistics are also the lowest this season since the former Lyonnais’ arrival in 2019, and it is obvious that a player like Borja Iglesias, who has only scored one TCC goal this season, is suffering of the absence of number 8. With Isco at the top and the returning Fekir – the two men will still have to find automatisms – Betis can already rub their hands…
