Real Betis extend winning run as Villarreal fight back to beat Malaga

Real Betis maintained their impressive start to the La Liga season with a fourth consecutive victory, while Villarreal ended a difficult spell by recovering from an early setback to defeat newly promoted Malaga 3-1.

Betis overcame Getafe 1-0 at Benito Villamarin, with Abde Ezzalzouli scoring late in the first half. Villarreal produced their comeback at La Rosaleda in Andalucia to secure their first La Liga win of the campaign.

Ezzalzouli decides close contest

Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis made the stronger opening against Getafe and nearly took the lead when Isco noticed David Soria had moved off his line. His ambitious attempt from inside the Getafe half forced the goalkeeper to race back and prevent the ball from going in.

Getafe created opportunities of their own, but Betis continued to look the more threatening side. Nemanja Gudelj tested Alvaro Valles, while Antony went close on two occasions. Soria saved his curling effort before tipping a half-volley on to the post.

Betis finally broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time. Troy Parrott’s low cross travelled through the area and Abde Ezzalzouli reacted quickest, sending a shot beyond Soria.

Getafe made changes at half-time as they searched for an equaliser, although Betis remained capable of adding to their lead. Isco shot wide from 16 yards, then Rodrigo Riquelme forced Soria into another excellent save with an effort directed towards the top-right corner.

The visitors’ hopes were further damaged when Mario Martin received a second yellow card, leaving Getafe to finish with 10 men.

The result was Betis’ fifth league win of the season and took them to 15 points from six matches. They have won six of their seven games in all competitions. Getafe remain on five points and have won only once in the league.

Gueye completes Villarreal turnaround

Villarreal recovered from an unfortunate early goal to beat Malaga 3-1 and end a run of four successive competitive defeats.

The result eased some of the pressure on head coach Inigo Perez after Malaga took the lead inside the opening 15 minutes. Carlos Dotor’s shot from the centre of the area struck Pau Navarro as he attempted to block it, looping over Peter Gulacsi and into the net.

Villarreal responded with sustained pressure, and Alfonso Herrero had to make strong saves to deny Tajon Buchanan and Ilias Akhomach.

Akhomach played a key role in the equaliser, which arrived in the 40th minute. Villarreal then moved in front shortly before the interval when Ayoze Perez squared the ball after a clever pass from Alberto Moleiro, allowing Pape Gueye to score from close range.

Gueye had replaced the injured Santi Comesana only minutes earlier.

Ayoze Perez was denied a third early in the second half when his header was blocked before it reached the net. Malaga continued to press, while Villarreal grew increasingly anxious as they attempted to preserve their advantage.

The visitors were given the opportunity to settle the match after a foul by Herrero resulted in a penalty. The spot-kick followed a passage in which a Carlos Romero goal had been ruled out for offside.

Gueye converted to claim his second goal of the match and complete Villarreal’s comeback. The win moves them up to 14th, while Malaga remain 19th after extending their winless start to six matches.