Betis conclude pre-season with draw, while Athletic slip to defeat

FC Schalke 04 3-2 Athletic Club

Athletic made a sluggish start on their visit to the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen and it was not long before they found themselves on the back foot. The match was only a quarter of an hour old when Naldo put the hosts ahead and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar soon after made it 2-0 which, despite the Basques' best efforts to reduce the deficit, remained the scoreline at the interval. It was a different story in the second half as Ernesto Valverde's men came out with an extra spring in their steps and got a goal back in the 58th minute, Mikel San Jose firing home from a corner. Next followed a spell in which openings were forged at both ends, including a glorious opportunity for Iñaki Williams to bring the visitors level. The young hotshot's miss would come back to bite his side in the behind when Johannes Geis extended Schalke's advantage with an 80th-minute free-kick that left goalkeeper Kepa with no chance.  The referee awarded Athletic a penalty in the dying stages and Aritz Aduriz held his nerve to pull it back to 3-2, but there was no time to search for an equaliser as the final whistle was blown straight afterwards.

RB Leipzig 1-1 Real Betis

The Seville-based side were held to a draw in the final game of their pre-season campaign at Leipzig's Red Bull Arena. There wasn't much between the sides in the opening stages, but as the game wore on, the hosts upped the tempo and only some fine work from the Betis backline prevented the Bundesliga newboys from claiming a half-time lead, as the sides went in goalless at the break. After the restart, the German outfit began to impose themselves and they got their noses in front courtesy of a 60th-minute Marcel Halstenberg strike. However, it didn't take the Verdiblancos long to get back on level terms. With 70 minutes on the clock, the referee pointed to the spot for a foul on Jonas Martin and Ruben Castro stepped up to nonchalantly stroke home the spot-kick, as Betis rounded off their pre-season programme with a draw.