Real Betis 0-0 Atletico Madrid: Hosts held to a goalless draw by Diego Simeone’s side… days after Antoine Griezmann insists he wants to finish career in MLS

Atletico Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw at Real Betis in a match of few scoring opportunities in the Seville heat.

Betis seemed the more dangerous team, but could not break the stalemate at the Benito Villamarín stadium.

Diego Simeone’s visitors did not relax, despite starting Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann in the front.

At the final whistle, the points were shared as the colchoneros were unable to add three points despite a strong second half.

It was a turning point for Atletico Madrid, which secured three points in the 3-1 win against Granada thanks to goals from Álvaro Morata, Memphis Depay and Marcos Llorente.

“I like American sports, I would love to play in the MLS and would love to play there,” said Griezmann

“We were better in the first half, but in the second half it got harder because of the heat,” said Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini. “But you can never say that a draw against Atletico is a bad result.”

Both teams attempted to win their second straight game to start the season.

Isco showed a strong performance throughout, defending high against the visitors and creating most of the chances.

“We didn’t create much danger in the first half, but after the break we could have done better in front of goal,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.

Madrid won 3-1 in Almería on Saturday for their second successive victory. It leads the competition together with Valencia, which beat Las Palmas 1-0 on Friday.

The goalless deadlock in Sevilla came as Real Madrid secured a further three points, courtesy of a brace from new signing Jude Bellingham. Barcelona also took off 2-0 at Cadiz, with late goals from Pedri and Ferran Torres.

It was announced that French striker Antoine Griezmann insisted he still wants to finish his career in the United States. Griezmann made a permanent return to Atletico Madrid from Barcelona last year and has a contract to play in the Spanish capital for another three years.

Betis have won only one of their last 22 league matches against Atletico since the arrival of Simeone.

Also on Sunday, Getafe remained scoreless after a 3-0 defeat in Girona, which conceded two goals from Uruguayan striker Cristhian Stuani in the second half and one from Venezuelan midfielder Yangel Herrera in the first half.