Real Betis 0 : 1 Real Sociedad - Sociedad claim European spot

Posted Sunday, April 27, 2014 by PA

Real Sociedad booked their place in the Europa League for next season as they rubbed in the misery for Real Betis, who learned of their relegation before kick-off.

Getafe's 1-0 win over Malaga earlier in the afternoon had sealed their fate, leaving this match to be played out in a subdued atmosphere at the Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera as Betis fell to a 23rd defeat of a miserable season, losing 1-0.

Sociedad were hardly at their best, but did enough to take advantage thanks to Carlos Vela's penalty early in the second half. The win puts them 12 points clear of Valencia, who have four games remaining but lose out to Sociedad on the head-to-head record.

With the pressure off, Betis began brightly as Juanfran Moreno and Ruben Castro each had early efforts, although they did little to test the goalkeeper.

Sociedad were hardly much better, with a Vela shot which sailed over all they managed before the break.

The best chance of the first half came just before the half-hour mark, falling to the hosts, but Damien Perquis' header was blocked by Mikel Gonzalez after a corner.

If Betis had shaded the opening 45 minutes, their usual luck kicked in at the start of the second half, with Juan Carlos Perez Lopez conceding a penalty which Vela comfortably stroked home.

Antonio Griezmann might have doubled their advantage in the 54th minute only to see his shot come back off the upright, while Betis continued to push with Francisco Chica and Braian Rodriguez having sights of goal.

Their best chance of an equaliser came in the 77th minute when Ruben Castro drilled a low shot at goal, but Claudio Bravo made a fine stop to push it away, and then got in position to block another shot from Castro moments later.

From there, time ebbed away until the referee signalled the official start of Betis fans' mourning.