MADRID, 15 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Real Betis beat RCD Espanyol 3-1 this Saturday, thus placing it in fifth place in LaLiga Santander after benefiting from the 2-0 loss conceded by Real Sociedad on its visit to Athletic Club, during a 29th matchday that He has also experienced the triumph of Real Valladolid at home against Villarreal CF (1-2).
The Saturday round of matches opened at the Estadio de la Cerámica, where the locals were unable to continue their good image shown the previous week at the Bernabéu. Thus, Valladolid surprised by taking a two-goal lead in just half an hour.
Selim Amallah opened the scoring at 2′ after a combination from the balcony of the area, until he entered the ‘kitchen’ and gently beat the Villarreal goalkeeper with a cross shot. He then scored on Samu Chukwueze, but his shot was disallowed for offside by teammate José Luis Morales.
Just a few bars later, Jawad El Yamiq made it 0-2 after some great individual play from behind. The Moroccan central defender started at a gallop down the left flank and culminated with an accurate shot after breaking the rival defender. Étienne Capoue discounted for the ‘Yellow Submarine’ with a left-footed shot at 74′.
On the other hand, San Mamés smiled at the local team in the Basque derby. Athletic Club exhibited more bite and took victory thanks to a brace from Iñaki Williams (min.33 and 70). The first of his account came in a corner, finished off point-blank and in the second instance after his own failure.
The second goal from the eldest of the Williams was on the counterattack, entering the ‘txuri-urdin’ area on the right side to end his gallop with a right-footed shot from above and unappealable for the visiting goalkeeper. In the other goal, Unai Simón had saved the tie with several merit saves at the insistence of Real.
Finally, Betis took advantage of this combination of results with a victory over a Espanyol in free fall. The arrival of ex-soccer player Luis García to the ‘perico’ bench does not seem to bear fruit, although his team was close to scratching a draw this time at the Benito Villamarín Stadium.
The Verdiblancos took the lead thanks to Ayoze Pérez in the 27th minute, after a pass from Luiz Henrique. Near the break, Juan Miranda made it 2-0 with an assist from Ayoze himself. Espanyol narrowed the gap with a nice goal by César Montes, from a Chilean kick from a corner and after several unsuccessful headers for clearance.
However, and after several failed attempts by Joselu to seek an equalizer, the 3-1 decision came through William Carvalho. His shot from the edge of the area sealed the victory for the Betic club, which reached 48 points to put Villarreal ahead (47) and stalk Real Sociedad (51).