La Real lets the victory slip away in Vigo and Betis becomes strong in Valladolid

Mallorca prolongs Villarreal's agony with a resounding victory (4-2)

MADRID, 18 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Real Sociedad missed victory this Saturday after drawing (1-1) against RC Celta with an own goal by Le Normand at the last minute for a team from Vigo who had to play with one less in the end. Tapia's expulsion, while Real Betis successfully solved (2-1) the visit of Real Valladolid and Mallorca prolonged (4-2) the agony of Villarreal, on matchday 22 of LaLiga Santander.

The team led by Imanol Sheriff did not know how to take advantage of the income obtained in the first half with Oyarzabal's goal after five minutes to prevail against a sky-blue team that knew how to grow in adversity. Although the '10' of the 'txuri-urdines' put his team ahead after perfectly completing a manual counter start by the Japanese Kubo, the Celtic impetus was a constant throughout the clash.

With Carles Pérez and Javi Galán as the most incisive men, the group led by Carlos Carvalhal made merits to, at least, equalize the clash. However, Tapia's sending off at 75', when he had barely been on the pitch for five minutes, seemed to set the tone for a match that was destined for a local victory. Even Real was able to kill the game before with Zubimendi and Oyarzabal, and later with Kubo, but Villar's good work and the lack of success left everything open until the end.

Thus, the team from Vigo took advantage of the last minutes of the match to put all their game into the rival field and although they came close to scoring twice, the third time was the charm. Iago Aspas found the prize in the last breath with a shot that Le Normand put into his own goal in his attempt to clear. A point that keeps the people from San Sebastián in third position when that did seem to touch the second position and that moves the people from Vigo out of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Real Betis beat Valladolid (2-1) with a triumph of merit that confirms their pursuit of the 'Top 4', to the detriment of a team from Valladolid that has not managed to get away from the relegation places after three games without lose. Manuel Pellegrini's team came out more plugged into the pitch with more vertical football that soon paid off.

At minute 4, Canales served a ball on a tray to Juanmi who beat Masip without further ado. Although the Verdiblanco team continued to take the initiative in the clash, even hitting the post with a ball, the Pucelano team managed to recover from the quick blow.

Half an hour into the game, Kike Pérez countered after a good steal of the ball in the midfield that Larin, the goal man of the winter market, culminated with a tight shot against which Claudio Bravo could do little or nothing. However, when everything seemed on track to go to the locker room with a tie, a fall by Ayoze in the area ended the game. Mateu Lahoz signaled the maximum penalty and Canales from eleven meters did not fail.

Already in the second part, the impetus of Betis continued to be a headache for a Valladolid defense that had to be entrusted to Masip to avoid the win. The Catalan goalkeeper gave a recital under the sticks, also helped by the post, preventing the locals from leaving on the scoreboard. However, bad luck ended up taking over the blanquivioletas when at 70' he had to leave injured due to a blow with Ayoze.

In the end, the entry of Álvaro Aceves, who was making his debut in an official match at the age of 19, seemed to give wings to an visiting team that came to see the tie up close in the final minutes. Monchu had the clearest, but another good intervention by Bravo ended up leaving the three points at Benito Villamarín.

Finally, Mallorca became strong in Son Moix to prevail (4-2) against Villarreal after a frenetic game that led to the expulsion of Manu Trigueros on the brink of halftime. An important victory that allows Javier Aguirre's team to equalize the yellow team on points, who still have not raised their heads after their fourth consecutive defeat.

After a frantic start to the game, with chances for both teams, the locals managed to tip the balance in their favor after 20'. The vermilion team took advantage of a bad delivery by Pepe Reina towards Albiol to mount a counterattack that Muriqi served Kadewere on a platter. Hard blow for the visitors who also saw how in the next play Manu Trigueros was sent off for a hard tackle on Dani Rodríguez.

Despite this, Quique Setién's team managed to recover just before halftime with the equalizer, after taking advantage of a mistake by Gio González that left Morales alone to beat Rajkovic one-on-one. The joy of the yellows did not last long because just a minute later Dani Rodríguez put his team ahead with a header that sent them to the changing rooms ahead on the scoreboard.

With everything to be decided, the second part did not disappoint either. Both teams returned to an offensive display at the start with an exchange of blows that left no one indifferent. Thus, the 'Submarine' did not take even five minutes to tie again through Chukwueze, who ended a counter after another defensive error by Mallorca. But as it happened at the beginning, the reply did not take long to arrive at the boots of Dani Rodríguez.

The Spanish footballer signed his brace after perfectly finishing off a corner kick taken by Kang-in Lee. Good minutes from the locals who, after the goal, managed to gain control of the ball to begin to subdue a Villarreal who saw how Javier Aguirre's men put land in the middle of the scoreboard. Muriqi, after the hour of play, broke his scoring drought after taking advantage of a magnificent drop shot from Raíllo, who hooked the very same squad with a powerful left foot to sign his ninth goal this season and move up to fourth.