Defeat in Seville leaves Andre Silva and Martim Neto’s team in dire straits in the fight to avoid relegation.
Betis’ return to winning ways in the Spanish League guarantees them fifth place with two rounds to go, securing a spot in the next edition of the Champions League, to which they will return after two decades. The Seville side beat Elche, with Andre Silva in the squad, 2-1 , a result that leaves the Alicante team in a precarious position in the frantic fight to avoid relegation in La Liga .
The first half had two goals, one for each side, scored by Cucho Hernandez for Betis (9m), and Hector Fort for Elche [41m], who had Martim Neto on the bench.
In fact, the first half did have three goals, but the one that could have given the visitors a comeback , in the 45+6 minute, was disallowed due to a handball by André Silva before he assisted Diangana for an easy finish.
Elche’s life got more complicated at the start of the second half when Petrot was shown a straight red card for a very hard tackle on Antony.
With a numerical advantage, Betis secured the victory with a great goal from Pablo Fornals in the 68th minute, with a well-placed shot from outside the area.
In stoppage time, Cucho Hernandez came close to scoring a second goal, but his shot was saved by Dituro after he had rounded the opposing goalkeeper.
With two rounds to go, Betis secured the millionaire fifth place in the Spanish League, as they have seven more points (57) than sixth-placed Celta de Vigo(50), who lost this Tuesday to Levante (3-2), managed by Luís Castro , who thus caught up with Elche in the table.
Both teams are among a group of five with 39 points in the table, with the added complication that Mallorca, Espanyol and Girona, the latter already in the relegation zone, have yet to play in the 36th round.