Betis - Girona 2-1
In a raucous atmosphere, Los Verdiblancos started on the front foot against the newly promoted side, but against the run of play, they conceded their first home goal this campaign after seven minutes. Rodrigo Riquelme fed left wing-back Miguel Gutiérrez, and he weaved inside wonderfully before threading a lovely through-ball into the path of 19-year-old Arnau Martínez, who took a touch before coolly beating the onrushing Rui Silva.
Shortly afterwards though, Manuel Pellegrini’s men had the opportunity to level as Iglesias produced a sumptuous backheel to set Rodri on his way, and the winger was cynically blocked by former Middlesbrough defender Bernardo Espinosa, leaving Miguel Ortiz with little option but to point to the spot. Iglesias found Juan Carlos’ bottom left-hand corner, despite the Girona goalkeeper - the last stopper to keep the striker out from 12 yards in 2018 - getting a hand to the shot.
Visiting head coach Míchel was then sent to the stands after arguing with the fourth official, but that didn’t dampen his team’s spirit as Riquelme and Gutiérrez again combined neatly down the left. Unfortunately for the underdogs though, the latter’s delivery was headed straight at Silva by Real Madrid loanee Reinier. Santiago Bueno’s timely interception prevented Luiz Henrique from testing Carlos just before the break and Pellegrini would have been frustrated that his side’s only first-half effort on target came from Iglesias’ penalty.
In the second period, Silva was left stranded when Reinier hit his right-hand post via a deflection off Germán Pezzella, before Riquelme side-footed over the bar from close range as both sides looked to go for the win from the restart. Gutiérrez was the next to try his luck after determined dribbling from Taty Castellanos, but he could only find the side-netting. However, Iglesias gleefully snapped up his second of the contest, seizing on Samuel Sáiz's horribly miscued pass back towards Espinosa and Betis’ talisman sprinted away and slid home the winner.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Miguel Gutiérrez (Girona)
Real Sociedad - Espanyol 2-1
Imanol Alguacil’s men were on the hunt for consistency, after failing to string together two wins all season domestically. In front of an electric atmosphere in San Sebastián, the home team were in control from the outset, and seized on an incredible mistake to take the lead. Álvaro Fernández took an awful touch, allowing Takefusa Kubo to steal the ball away, with it eventually dropping to Alexander Sørloth for a tap-in.
Instantly, the visitors responded, restoring parity within two minutes of falling behind. A neatly-worked corner routine made its way to the edge of the box where Edu Expósito was waiting, firing through a pile of bodies to beat an unsighted Álex Remiro. That strike against the run of play had the potential to rattle Sociedad, but Mikel Merino took a hold of the contest and drove his team into the lead once more. The Spaniard won the ball back in the Espanyol half, before running at the defence and feeding Méndez, who slotted the ball past the goalkeeper with the outside of his foot in glorious fashion.
Sociedad expertly managed the restart, neutralising the game to a large extent, eliminating the end-to-end nature the first half sometimes possessed. This should hardly have been a surprise though, as eight of their last nine previous wins were by a one-goal margin. Merino and David Silva were pulling all the strings in the midfield, and the pair linked up to allow the Manchester City legend to flash a shot from the edge of the box, but it drifted narrowly wide.
In a sea of comfort, Alguacil would suffer a late scare as Sergi Darder’s looping free-kick was headed on target by Leandro Cabrera, but Remiro was on hand to make a superb reaction save. It was a stop that would prove pivotal, as Sociedad held on for a first home league victory of the season. Meanwhile, Espanyol sit just above the relegation zone on goal difference, but four defeats from the last five is a concerning run of form.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad)
