MADRID, 18 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
This Sunday, Real Sociedad recovered sixth position in LaLiga EA Sports 2023-2024 thanks to its agonizing victory (1-2) against RCD Mallorca and Betis’ goalless draw against Deportivo Alavés, while Granada and UD Almería They added a draw (1-1) that was not very fruitful for their salvation interests, in matches corresponding to the twenty-fifth day of the championship.
At the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, Real Sociedad ended a bad streak of five games without winning or scoring, among all competitions, thanks to a goal in the 93rd minute by international midfielder Mikel Merino, which meant the third league defeat at home. the second in the last three games, for a Mallorca weighed down by the expulsion of Antonio Raíllo on the stroke of half-time.
In their second confrontation on the island twelve days after their first meeting in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey ended 0-0, the match took a different direction with the early local goal from Antonio Sánchez, who hooked a good shot from outside from the area to beat Alex Remiro.
From there, Javier Aguirre’s team preferred to cede the initiative to their rival, who took control of the match supported by the insistence of Take Kubo. The best chances, except for a powerful shot by Dani Rodríguez, came from the visitors and in the end it was their Japanese striker who equalized before the break.
Furthermore, before heading to the locker room, the referee González Fuertes showed two almost consecutive yellow cards to Raíllo and Mallorca was left with ten to face an entire second half where they tried to resist the harassment of the ‘txuri-urdines’. And he was on the verge of achieving it until the 93rd minute when a cross from Pacheco was headed into the net by Merino to give three vital points to Imanol Alguacil’s team.
BETIS COLLIDES WITH ALAVÉS
They placed sixth in the table, beating a Betis team that once again showed certain offensive problems in their duel at the Benito Villamarín against Deportivo Alavés, whom they could not overcome in a closely contested match that ended without goals.
The Betic team wanted to make up for their defeat last Thursday in front of their home crowd in the Conference League against the Croatian Dinamo Zagreb, but they ran into the order of Luis García Plaza’s team, who barely allowed them to maneuver even though they did not manage to carry too much danger.
After passing through the locker room, Manuel Pellegrini’s men came out with one more march and laid siege to Antonio Sivera’s goal, the savior with an agile stretch to prevent Juan Miranda’s goal at the far post at the beginning of the second half.
Betis improved their performance and took more risks, but they lacked more offensive lucidity against a rival who little by little threatened with the appearance of spaces, but who also did not find Samu Omorodion nor could they take advantage of any of their transitions. Sivera got another good hand at the end against the debutant Bakambu, while Benavídez scared at the end with a shot that Rui Silva took. The tie leaves the green and white team one point behind Real Sociedad and Alavés with eleven cushions over relegation.
GRANADA AND ALMERÍA, BITTER DRAW
Finally, at the Nuevo Los Cármenes Stadium, Granada, penultimate classified, and UD Almería, bottom, signed a one-goal draw, a result of little help for both and which places the Almería team with a negative record in the First Division .
Gaizka Garitano’s team added its twenty-fifth day without winning in the highest division of Spanish football, something unprecedented until now and an ‘honor’ that it shared until this Sunday with Sporting de Gijón in the 97-98 season. Furthermore, counting last season, there are already 28 league matches without knowing the victory, surpassing the 27 that Levante UD had between 2021 and 2022.
In yet another match, UD Almería had its options to put an end to this bad dynamic, but it did not take advantage of its early advantage thanks to a powerful shot from winger Marc Pubill or its good options in the final stretch when the clash ended up getting out of control.
Granada, which needs the victory to take advantage of the defeat of Celta, the team that marks salvation, improved after the break with the entries of Lucas Boyé and Gerard Gumbau. The midfielder was key to the tie with a sensational pass to Myrto Uzuni for the Albanian to equalize when nervousness began to set in in the stands.
There was just over a quarter of an hour left, and although the VAR annulled a penalty in favor of the locals, it was the Almería team that had the best chances to win, with Alejandro Pozo unsuccessful in the two he had, although in one of them claimed a penalty from Batalla. With this tie, Granada is six points away from salvation, which is increasingly difficult for Almería (12).
2024-02-18 22:08:19
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