Villarreal and Betis miss the Champions League train
MADRID, March 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sevilla took (2-1) a direct duel for salvation against Almería this Sunday on matchday 25 of LaLiga Santander, in a Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán who pushed in favor of the comeback, while Real Sociedad could not ( 1-1) with Mallorca but neither Villarreal nor Real Betis took advantage of it (1-1).
Jorge Sampaoli’s team is pulling their hearts out in the absence of play to get matches and points that are worth gold. Those from the Andalusian capital saw themselves down 0-1 after two minutes due to Akieme’s goal and, in the midst of more rotations and ‘inventions’ by the Argentine coach, he pulled off the comeback to get out of relegation.
The reaction that Pizjuán pushed led to Almería being locked up, but Rubi’s men did not suffer clear chances despite the decomposition they suffered with injuries to El Bilal and Akieme himself after 12 minutes. In a loss, the Almería team committed the penalty that Ocampos converted in the 1-1 in discount.
With the wear and tear of their duel against Fenerbahce in the Europa League, Sevilla suffered at the restart, with an ex like Pozo who led the visitors. Dmitrovic, who had come on at the end of the first act due to Bono’s injury, was key to keeping Sampaoli’s team up and a header from Lamela left the three points in Seville.
At the top of the table, Real, with a victory in the last seven league games, neglected the Champions League zone, although their pursuers did not take advantage of it afterwards. Imanol Alguacil’s men, who had come in addition to the setback (2-0) in the Europa League against Roma this week, showed the lack of confidence of their streak by forgiving a Mallorca that ended up pressing.
At Son Moix, Carlos Fernández ended his scoring drought to put the Basques ahead after three minutes. A blow to the strategy of Javier Aguirre’s team, without Muriqi’s lighthouse due to suspension, but the locals defended themselves well. At the restart, the entry of Amath and Abdón gave Mallorca another air and Kang In Lee signed the tie (1-1) after five minutes.
The clash lost a clear owner and could fall from either side, with the final expulsion ‘txuri-rudin’ of Merino. The Balearic Islands add a point to recover the important performances this season that keep them in the middle of the table and the Basques, in a crisis of goals and confidence more than of play, remain fourth with 45 points.
Betis (42) and Villarreal (38) failed to get closer to that prestigious ‘Top 4’ in a match that gained intensity and chances as the minutes passed at La Cerámica. The first half went by without chances until Rodri tried his luck from afar and Reina failed to try to save the ball, which was loose for an attentive Borja Iglesias to make it 0-1.
The goal in the 35th minute opened the game although half-time came soon. From there the ‘submarine’ returned with a step forward, a succession of arrivals, looking for centers with intention, with the prize of Yeremy’s 1-1 with a lot of VAR suspense. Without Guido, replaced with a yellow card, Betis lost a lot of midfield and Villarreal, with a grown Ramon Terrats, went around the goal with Gerard Moreno and Morales without being able to celebrate the centenary with victory.