Betis hold on to beat valiant Vallecano and leap into top four

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Betis hold on to beat valiant Vallecano and leap into top four
Betis celebrate their goal
Betis celebrate their goal
AFP
Luiz Henrique’s first-half goal proved to be the winner, as Real Betis put an end to their worst run in the league this season to see off Rayo Vallecano and leapfrog into the top four of La Liga, for the time being at least.

With both sides separated by just two points in pursuit of European places in La Liga, Rayo Vallecano and Real Betis squared off in need of three points for the same reason. An even start is exactly what we got, too, with Iván Balliu converting into the back of his own net - nodding in off the post from Betis’ corner to give the visitors the lead inside 10 minutes.

The early opener sparked the game into life, as chances began to fall the way of Vallecano - one of which, Sergio Camello should have taken when he connected well with his header inside the area, only to see it loop agonisingly over the bar. Camello’s chance was a warning sign that Betis did not listen to, with the striker firing home at the second time of asking on the rebound of Florian Lejeune’s initial effort to level things up in the 20th-minute.

In what was a back and forth game, the chances continued to come for both sides, and this soon resulted in a second goal for Betis just before the break. This time, the breakthrough came courtesy of Henrique, who placed an inch-perfect effort into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box.

The second-half saw both sides take a more cautious approach. That careful approach did not see an end to the ball finding the back of the net, however, and if it wasn’t for VAR, Isi Palazón would have equalised for the hosts in the 63rd-minute, as he squeezed his effort beyond Rui Silva, only for the goal to be rule offside. Betis weren’t exactly short of chances, either, coming closest when Sergio Canales somehow smashed his effort off the bar inside the six-yard box.

Holding on for all three points, Real Betis ended Rayo Vallecano’s impressive seven game unbeaten streak to rise into the top four of La Liga and leave the hosts sat in eighth - four points adrift of the European places.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Nabil Fekir (Real Betis)

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