After losing on penalties in the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey in their last two matches, Betis may have been ruing their recent luck. However, they would have counted themselves fortunate when the woodwork came to their aid in the fifth minute, denying Leandro Cabrera’s thumping header from Sergi Darder’s dangerous corner. Espanyol continued to offer a significant threat, with Martin Braithwaite seeing his close-range effort smartly saved by the evergreen Claudio Bravo.
Dominating the game in terms of possession, Betis carved out their best opportunity of the first half on the stroke of HT when Aitor Ruibal’s delivery to the back post found the head of Borja Iglesias, but his goalbound effort was superbly stopped by Álvaro Fernández, before Cabrera hooked the ball away from danger. Betis were made to rue that miss as, within a minute, Espanyol quickly broke away to open the scoring. Braithwaite was on hand to guide Brian Oliván’s deflected cross past Bravo, giving the hosts a HT lead for the first time in La Liga this season.
Within seven minutes of the restart, the Parakeets thought they had doubled their advantage, but Aleix Vidal’s potential first goal of the season was chalked off, with the officials ruling that Javi Puado’s outstretched arm had struck Ruibal in the build-up. Undeterred, Espanyol created another glorious opening, but with the goal beckoning, Puado was unable to make any meaningful contact with Óscar Gil’s cut-back.
As Betis struggled to find their groove, Manuel Pellegrini rang the changes throughout the second half, but the experienced manager was unable to instigate an improvement in performance, ensuring Espanyol claimed consecutive top flight victories for the first time since October 2021. While the visitors remained in sixth-place for the time being, Diego Martínez’s side moved up to 12th position, boosting their bid to stave off relegation.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Martin Braithwaite (Espanyol)
