 |
| Aitor Ruibal of Real Betis and Chris Ramos of Cadiz in action during the Spanish league, La Liga Santander, football match played between Real Betis and Cadiz CF at Benito Villamarin stadium on April 9, 2023, in Sevilla, Spain. |
Real Betis’ hopes of grabbing a Champions League spot next season took a hit after a 2-0 loss at home against relegation-threatened Cadiz in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Betis’ third loss in its last four matches came with Manuel Pellegrini’s team playing with nine men for the final half-hour at the Benítez Villamarín Stadium in Seville.
The result dropped Betis to sixth, six points behind fourth-place Real Sociedad in the final Champions League spot.
Betis has won only one of its last seven matches in all competitions, with two losses against Manchester United in the Europa League.
Cadiz, which hadn’t won in four games, moved to 14th — three points clear of the relegation zone after 28 matches. It scored with a penalty kick converted by Rubén Alcaraz in the 53rd minute and through Chris Ramos in the 59th.
Betis went two men down after Sergio Canales was sent off in the 38th and Aitor Ruibal in the 60th, both with straight red cards. Canales’ card came for stopping a breakaway, while Ruibal’s was for hitting an opponent in the face after both went for the ball.
Valladolid conceded deep into stoppage time in a 3-3 draw with Mallorca in the debut of Uruguayan coach Paulo Pezzolano.
Vedat Muriqi converted a penalty kick four minutes into second-half stoppage time as Mallorca salvaged the draw in a thrilling back-and-forth encounter.
Valladolid, which had taken the lead with Monchu’s goal in the 86th, stayed one point from the relegation zone. Mallorca was 12th.
It was the fourth straight match without a win for Valladolid. Mallorca was winless in six consecutive games.
Valladolid took the lead for the first time with Kike Pérez in the 33rd before Mallorca rallied with another goal by Muriqi in the 53rd and one by Manu Morlanes in the 58th. Selim Amallah came off the bench in the 67th to even the match again in the 68th before the late goals by Monchu and Muriqi.
