MADRID (AP) — Sevilla beat Real Betis 2-1 in the Seville derby Sunday to stay within range of Spanish league leader Real Madrid.
It was the rivals' first meeting since the previous derby had to be suspended because a Sevilla player was hit by a piece of PVC thrown by a Betis fan in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey last month. Sevilla eventually lost when the match resumed a day later without fans.
Ivan Rakitic and Munir El Haddadi scored first-half goals Sunday before Betis pulled one closer with Sergio Canales in stoppage time at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium.
The result kept Sevilla six points behind Madrid, which won 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. The win also allowed Sevilla to open up an eight-point gap to third-place Betis. Sevilla is 12 points clear of fifth-place Villarreal, the first team outside the Champions League qualification places.
“We are still alive,” Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui said. “We deserved the three points today and now we have to prepare to try to win the next one as well."
Sevilla has lost only once in its last eight matches in all competitions — to Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday in the Europa League, although it still advanced to the next round with the result. The other loss before that had come at the Copa derby, when Sevilla player Joan Jordán was sent to the hospital after being hit by a piece of PVC hurled from the stands.
Manuel Pellegrini's Betis, which also advanced in the Europa League on Thursday, had been unbeaten in five consecutive matches, with four wins.
Sixth-place Barcelona hosts eighth-place Athletic Bilbao later Sunday.
The message “No to war” is being shown on the broadcast of all Spanish league matches.
PINO NETS FOUR
With four goals from four shots, Yeremy Pino became the first Villarreal player to score four times in a league game.
Pino scored a hat trick before halftime and added another goal in the second half of Villarreal’s 5-1 rout of Espanyol at home.
The 19-year-old Spain forward had never scored more than a goal in his career. He is the third youngest four-goal scorer in the history of the Spanish league.
It was the eighth win for Villarreal in its last 11 league games, with its only loss at Elche in January.
Unai Emery’s team was coming off a 1-1 draw at home against Juventus in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Keidi Baré scored Espanyol’s lone goal in the second half. Villarreal’s fifth goal was scored by Boulaye Dia near the end of the game at the La Cerámica Stadium.
The win moved Villarreal to fifth place, three points behind fourth-place Atlético Madrid, which won 2-0 at Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Espanyol’s winless streak reached eight matches in all competitions, with five losses and three draws. It stayed in 14th place.
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