MADRID (AP) — Espanyol was on the verge of relegation in the Spanish league after losing 3-2 on the road to Sevilla on Thursday.
It was the eighth defeat for the parakeets in their last 10 games, leaving the Catalan club in penultimate place in the table, three points from safety with five dates to play.
Espanyol went into halftime with a 2-1 lead after Karim Rekik’s own goal on 29 minutes and Javi Puado’s goal on 43 minutes. Bryan Gil opened the scoring for Sevilla on 22 minutes. penalty score by Argentine Lucas Ocampos at 69 and Pape Gueye’s goal at 88.
Espanyol had gained momentum in its fight to avoid relegation after defeating Getafe, the 18th in the table, on the previous date and ending a streak of eight straight games without winning. But their outlook is discouraging, since they have to face the leader Barcelona in their next match and they also face a duel against the second Atlético de Madrid.
Parakeets declined in 2020 for the first time in nearly three decades. They immediately returned to the top flight after winning the second division tournament.
Eleventh in the table, Sevilla recovered after losing at home to Girona on the previous date. The Andalusian team will face Juventus in the semifinals of the Europa League.
VALLADOLID IN DANGER
Valladolid lost 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano to remain in 16th place, just one point above the red zone. It was the third straight loss for the club owned by Ronaldo, retired Brazilian star Ronaldo.
Raúl de Tomás and Sergio Camello scored the goals for a Rayo team that is ninth and continues rowing to qualify for the European Cups.
BETIS BREAKS BAD RUN
Willian José scored just six minutes into the game to give Real Betis a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.
The victory brought Manuel Pellegrini’s team two points behind Villarreal, fifth in the table and which today would win the ticket to the Europa League. They sit nine behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad for the last Champions League ticket.
The béticos broke a streak of three games without winning.
Athletic, which fell back to eighth place, has gone three consecutive games without being victorious.
In another result, the Argentine Valentín Castellanos scored the goal with which Girona beat Mallorca 2-1 at home to sit seventh, five points behind Betis, in the 84th minute. Castellanos has scored in the last three games for the Catalan club, including four against Real Madrid.