Real Betis went to the top of La Liga on Friday night with a 1-0 win over Osasuna (another of the teams which started the weekend on six points). And after a fifth placed finish last term, Betis showed they have the stomach for a fight for a top four place, recording a third successive victory despite ending the game with ten men.
Head coach Manuel Pellegrini had already led his team to win over Elche and Mallorca and star striker Borja Iglesias scored his fourth goal of the campaign to continue the perfect start. The hosts were holding on a little after Argentine defender German Pezzella was sent off for a nasty foul on Manu Sanchez on 73 minutes, but Betis deserved the victory.
Real Madrid can make it three wins from three when they face Espanyol on Sunday night while Atletico Madrid meet Valencia on Monday, but Real Betis are the team to catch as the weekend draws to a close.
And with nine points from nine, Los Verdiblancos currently have the bragging rights in Seville…
Slow start for Sevilla
…particularly as city rivals Sevilla are some eight points behind already after going down to a 2-1 defeat away to new boys Almeria. After Oliver Torres had headed the much fancied Sevilla into a first half lead Largie Ramazani equalised for the newcomers just before the break. And with the score at 1-1 and Sevilla pushing for a winner Umar Sadiq slammed home the crucial goal to give Almeria a first La Liga victory in seven years.
It was a spirited fight back from Almeria and the La Liga 2022 betting odds give them every chance of extending their stay in the Primera Division for another year at least, and beating such a strong opponent will give them a huge boost. Los Sevillistas had 68 per cent possession in the game but Almeria had plenty of opportunities with 11 shots to Sevillas 13 and five shots on target each.
The win takes Almeria into the top half of the table while Sevilla are stuck on a single point. Head coach Julen Lopetegui needs to get his side going quickly with two home games to come against top class opposition; Barcelona in the league and then Manchester City in the Champions League.
Lewi settling in at Barca
Barcelona moved on to seven points and two behind the league leaders thanks to a resounding 4-0 victory at home to Real Valladolid. And Robert Lewandowski got the fans in the Camp Nou on their feet with a typically clinical display, bagging two goals either side of half time. He opened the scoring on 24 minutes when he got on the end of a cross from Raphinha, and bagged his second with a superb finish on 64, after Pedri had doubled Barca’s lead before the break. Lewandowski almost completed his hat-trick in stoppage time with a fierce shot which Jordi Masip did well to save, but there was nothing the Real keeper could do to stop Sergi Roberto making it 4-0 to the Catalans.
Villarreal miss out in Madrid
The Yellow Submarine had a great chance to return to the top of the table on Sunday evening when they went to Getafe in search of a third successive win. Here at SBOTOP we previewed this game and there wasn’t much of a case to make for Getafe who had looked out of sorts in their two openers, and Unai Emery’s Villarreal had plenty of chances to win the match, with 65 per cent possession and six shots to two on target.
The game had 11 minutes of injury time in a dramatic finale, as Gerard Moreno’s 97th minute shot was blocked by Mauro Arambarri and the referee saw it as handball, pointing to the penalty spot and booking Getafe’s defender. But VAR intervened to overturn the decision and Villarreal settled for a goalless draw.
Aspas does it again
In other La Liga 2022 news, Celta Vigo’s 1-0 win over newly promoted Girona was their first of the season and it was no surprise where the goal came from as veteran striker Iago Aspas scored the 49th minute winner with a clinical left foot finish to the bottom right corner. He has scored three of Celta’s four goals in this campaign and in his two stints at the club Aspas has scored 170 goals in 377 appearances and, since his return to the club in 2015, 124 goals in 238 games.
Los Celestes fans must fear the day their 35 year old talisman retires, but they don’t need to worry just yet.
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