This Sunday, Betis edged out Valencia with a 2-1 victory in a thrilling encounter held at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. The match saw Chimy Ávila score in the 22nd minute and Pablo Fornals net the winning goal in the 42nd minute of the second half, overturning an earlier lead given to Valencia by Luis Rioja, who scored in the 19th minute of the first half.
Valencia’s Pepelu had an early chance to score, but he squandered a penalty in the 12th minute, failing to give his team an early advantage.
Pablo Fornals was undoubtedly the standout player of the match. The Betis midfielder netted one goal, completed 23 key passes, made two interceptions, and attempted two shots on goal.
Lucas Beltrán also had a notable performance for Valencia, taking three shots and registering 38 successful passes throughout the match.
Betis’ manager, Manuel Pellegrini, opted for a 4-5-1 formation, featuring Álvaro Valles in goal; Aitor Ruibal, Marc Bartra, Diego Llorente, and Ricardo Rodríguez in defense; Sergi Altimira, Marc Roca, Antony, Nelson Deossa, and Abde Ezzalzouli in midfield; and Chimy Ávila leading the attack.
On the other side, coach Carlos Corberán implemented a 4-4-2 formation with Stole Dimitrievski as the goalkeeper; Dimitri Foulquier, Eray Cömert, José Copete, and José Luis Gayà forming the backline; Luis Rioja, Pepelu, Filip Ugrinic, and Arnaut Danjuma in midfield; and Hugo Duro and Lucas Beltrán upfront.
Referee José Sánchez Martínez officiated the match at the Benito Villamarín stadium.
Following this significant result, Betis reaches 35 points, placing them fifth in the league standings, while Valencia remains on 23 points, sitting in fifteenth position.
Substitutions for Betis
45’ 2T – Sergi Altimira replaced by Pablo Fornals
66’ 2T – Chimy Ávila replaced by Pablo Garcia
90’ 2T – Antony replaced by Ángel Ortiz and Diego Llorente replaced by Valentín Gómez
Substitutions for Valencia
70’ 2T – Hugo Duro replaced by Umar Sadiq and Pepelu replaced by Baptiste Santamaria
71’ 2T – Lucas Beltrán replaced by André Almeida
76’ 2T – Luis Rioja replaced by Diego López
79’ 2T – José Copete replaced by César Tárrega
Yellow Cards for Valencia:
4’ 2T – Eray Cömert (Unsporting Behavior), 7’ 2T – Pepelu (Unsporting Behavior), and 39’ 2T – Dimitri Foulquier (Unsporting Behavior)
The next match for Betis is away against Atlético de Madrid, while Valencia will host Real Madrid.