Budimir brace leads Osasuna past battling Betis

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Budimir brace leads Osasuna past battling Betis
Ante Budimir doubled his goal tally for the season against Real Betis
Ante Budimir doubled his goal tally for the season against Real Betis
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Osasuna beat Real Betis 3-2 in Pamplona, ending a winless run of 11 meetings against Saturday's opponents, while a third defeat in five for Manuel Pellegrini’s side leaves their top four hopes hanging in the balance.

The hosts' early hopes of finishing in the European places have quickly faded after a run of inconsistent results, and they hosted a Real Betis side still in contention for a finish in the top four.

However, it was Osasuna that got off to a fast start, scoring twice in the opening 11 minutes. Firstly, a neat spell of possession was finished off by Ante Budimir after being picked out by Kike Barja, before the duo soon linked up again to deadly effect.

A swift counterattack saw Barja’s cross nodded in at the front post by Budimir, marking his second goal of the afternoon after going six months without scoring.

The frantic theme continued as Betis pulled a goal back five minutes later, when a loose ball in the box was fired towards goal by Luiz Henrique, but the goal-bound shot was inadvertently deflected in by his teammate Juan Miranda.

The home side were looking to restore their two-goal advantage, and very nearly did so on the half-hour mark, but Abde Ezzalzouli was denied by Rui Silva.

The hosts did manage to go into the break with a two-goal lead though, as Abde’s cross into the box evaded everyone but Jon Moncayola. who reacted first on the edge of the box and saw his first-time effort nestle into the bottom corner, capping off an entertaining 45 minutes of end-to-end football.

However, the second half was a complete contrast to the first, with both sides starting slowly and chances coming at a premium.

Budimir was seeking a career-first hat-trick, had a half chance to finally get one just before the hour mark, but after creating space for himself in the box, he was thwarted by a strong save from the Betis shot stopper.

Los Verdiblancos did pull a goal back in the 70th minute though, as Guido Rodriguez found himself unmarked and nodded in Rodri’s cross to set up a tense finish.

Despite pulling a goal back, the away side seemed to have lost momentum and never threatened to draw level, as Los Rojillos defended their lead seemingly comfortably.

This victory provides a glimmer of hope that they can finish in the European places, as they currently sit eighth and just six points behind sixth-place Villarreal, who are yet to play this weekend.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Ante Budimir (Osasuna)

Check out all the stats from the game with Flashscore.

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