Real Betis are now without a win in seven LaLiga fixtures as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Osasuna at the El Sadar Stadium on Sunday.
After a strong campaign, Betis’ form has nosedived in recent weeks, and their previous stranglehold on the UEFA Europa League qualification spot has significantly weakened.
In Osasuna, they faced a side that had lost just two of their last 11 LaLiga games, but they started strongly and broke the deadlock inside the opening 10 minutes.
The home side were hit by a swift counter, as Hector Bellerin played a perfect through ball into Abde Ezzalzouli’s path before the Morocco international swept home from outside the area.
In response, Osasuna almost equalised, only for Valentin Gomez to produce a fantastic block to deny Jon Moncayola at the back post. Ezzalzouli, meanwhile, was a threat throughout the first 45 minutes, and forced Sergio Herrera into a fantastic stop with an effort from around 25 yards out.
Nevertheless, with a little less than 10 minutes to go before the break, Osasuna were handed a lifeline in the form of a penalty when Gomez brought down Jorge Herrando after Alvaro Valles had kept out Ante Budimir’s header.
Only Vedat Muriqi and Kylian Mbappe had scored more LaLiga goals this term than Budimir’s pre-match total of 15, and the Croatia international added another to his tally from 12 yards to level the scoreline.
LALIGA: Real Betis winless streak continues.
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