Zidane's strange Real Madrid selection and lack of character hands LaLiga advantage to Barcelona

"That is how leagues are lost," said Marca on their front page on Monday morning.

Having returned to the top of the table with a 2-0 win at home to Barcelona in El Clasico last weekend, Real Madrid undid all their good work in that match by losing to struggling Real Betis on Sunday night.

Cristian Tello's late winner gave Betis their first win since January and condemned Los Blancos to a deserved defeat which leaves them two points behind Barca with 11 rounds remaining.

"It was our worst game of the season," coach Zinedine Zidane said. And Real, despite their Clasico win, have hit a rocky patch at the worst possible time.

Benzema is off form and nobody else is scoring

Karm Benzema scored his side's goal at the Benito Villamarin when he converted a penalty in added time at the end of the first half, but the French forward has dipped dramatically since his fantastic form in the first half of the season and when he is not playing well, neither do Real Madrid.

His goal took him to 19 for the season in all competitions and that remains a decent return at this stage. No other Madrid player is even in double figures yet, though, with Rodrygo and Sergio Ramos next on seven apiece. When Benzema is not scoring, Madrid struggle for goals.

Ramos let Benzema take the spot kick on Sunday, perhaps to boost his team-mate's confidence after a barren run in which he had netted only one in Madrid's previous 10 league games.

With Luka Jovic failing to impress and given few chances to shine since his summer switch and not even in the squad for this match, Benzema has had to play the bulk of the minutes this term and already looks exhausted. To make matters worse, it was his misplaced pass which allowed Betis to break away and score the winner on Sunday.

Why is Lucas Vazquez still starting for Real Madrid?

When Real Madrid won LaLiga in Zidane's second season in charge, Lucas Vazquez was often effective as a late substitute. He was also important alongside Benzema and Vinicius Junior under Santiago Solari last term, but those three failed to make an impact in Seville on Sunday night.

Vinicius was well marshalled by Emerson and failed to follow up his impressive show in El Clasico, but Lucas offered next to nothing on the opposite flank. Presumably he was included for his work-rate, but he is no longer good enough to be starting for Real Madrid in 2020.

The fact he is in the team says little for Gareth Bale as the Welsh winger continues to drift off the radar at Real, but Zidane still seems to have better options than Lucas.

James Rodriguez is one. The Colombian was on the bench, but has barely been used lately after he made a strong start to the season and then spent time out through injury. And another is Rodrygo, discarded despite some superb showings earlier on in the campaign in which he also scored seven goals. Bizarre.

Madrid's midfield is weak without Fede Valverde

The emergence of Fede Valverde in Real Madrid's midfield transformed Los Blancos' season as Zidane's side embarked on an impressive unbeaten run between mid-October and early February. But without him, it could come crashing down again.

The Uruguayan was a late substitute in Real's 1-0 loss at Levante recently and after a typically dynamic display in last Sunday's Clasico win at home to Barcelona, he was surprisingly benched for the trip to Real Betis.

In his absence, Madrid's midfield trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos is no longer mobile enough at this level and Betis' quartet of Nabil Fekir, Sergio Canales, Joaquin and Andre Guardado (not exactly physical powerhouses themselves) dominated the game.

Valverde obviously has to rest sometimes, but Madrid's midfield is slow and static when he is not on the pitch these days. When he is not in the side, there is a lack of fight and character, which was evident on Sunday. Surely he has to play as much as possible from now on.

Militao's nightmare highlights problem at right-back

With Dani Carvajal missing because of flu and Nacho also out, Zidane picked Eder Militao at right-back at the Benito Villamarin on Sunday night.

The Brazilian had featured in that role at Porto in the past, but was given a torrid time by Betis and gave away possession 22 times in a dreadful display.

His inclusion in the position highlights a problem at right-back. Carvajal misses quite a few games per season due to injury and with Alvaro Odriozola loaned to Bayern Munich in January, there is no real back-up – especially when Nacho is out.

Achraf Hakimi, on loan at Borussia Dortmund until the summer, could be the solution next season, but Madrid are short for now and Militao's confidence has taken a hit ahead of next week's huge game against Manchester City, when he will likely be expected to fill in at centre-back (his natural position) for the suspended Sergio Ramos.

Failure to beat smaller sides hurts Madrid once again

Real Madrid have taken just four points from a possible 12 in recent weeks and three of those came in El Clasico last weekend, which means Los Blancos claimed just one from fixtures against Celta Vigo (at home), Levante (away) and Real Betis (away).

That follows points dropped earlier in the season against other lower league sides, with draws against Real Valladolid, Athletic Club and Betis (all at home), plus another tie away to Villarreal and defeat to Mallorca in October.

Beating Barcelona, Sevilla and Atletico is of course good news and all very well, but if Madrid lose LaLiga, it will be because of their failure to win games against smaller or struggling sides where relaxation seems to set in and Zidane experiments with his starting XI.

After this latest setback, there is no more margin for error now and although Barca will be expected to drop points at some stage, it is hard to see Madrid avoid further slip-ups on this evidence.