ESB 1:0 RBE | RCD Espanyol Barcelona - Real Betis (LaLiga)

LaLiga

Valladolid – Atlético

0:3 (end)

Espanyol – Betis

1:0 (end)

final

RCD Espanyol Barcelona

1:0 (1:0)

Real Betis

Sunday 17.02.2013, 21:00 • LaLiga

		Thanks for following the game at eurolivescores.com! Have a good night! (22:53:31)
		Espanyol defended their small 1-0 lead during the second half without major problems. They even could have won with a higher score if Víctor Sánchez and Verdú had used their big chances! For Espanyol their magic run continues. They now have won 16 out of 18 available points in their last six league matches and can even hope for a Europa League finnish. On the other side Betis sees the European spots run away from them. It was their 5th consecutive game without a win and they only gained two points in these.
		Game over.
	90+3	The free kick came towards the penalty point but no Betis player received it.
	90+3	All Betis players on their way towards the Espanyol area. They have a good free kick position.
	90+3	Offensive foul by an Espanyol player deep in the Betis half.
	90+2	Betis barely make it past the center line... defending the lead seems like an easy job for Espanyol.
	90	Three minutes are added to the game.
	90	Goal scorer Sergio García leaves the pitch with a lot of applause by the home fans. In for him is Samuele Longo for the last few minuets.
	89	Long ball towards the right outside lane for Sergio García who was just on side but Adrián left his net and cleared the situation.
	88	Cristian Gómez enters the pitch for Verdú. The clock works for Espanyol.
	86	Counter for Espanyol. Sergio García receives a kick in the face but continues his run over the right wing. His pass then comes to Verdú who didn't hit the ball well which went wide.
	85	Double chance for Betis. First a shot was just blocked and after the following corner a shot by Chica from about 20 metres ended just next to the left bottom corner!
	84	Paulao leaves the pitch also and Perquis is his substitute. Defender for defender. Looks like a change due to injury.
	83	Ángel is now in for the unlucky Pabón. Betis waited a long time with their second change.
	80	Sergio García again lays on the ground inside the guest area after Adrián pushed him from behind when he caught the ball. Today we probably won't see a penalty for a foul against Sergio García anymore...
	78	Juan Carlos (Betis) sees a yellow card for a brutal foul from behind against Javi López on the outside lane. Very unnecessary as the ball had already left the pitch...
	77	Verdú (Espanyol) gets a yellow card for protesting the last decision by the referee not to give a penalty shot.
	76	After an Espanyol throw in from the right side Sergio García goes down at the six-yard box but that was never a penalty... he received barely a push from behind.
	74	Through ball to Sergio García but he loses the running duel and the chance is gone.
	71	Betis are showing some signs of frustration. Despite their hard work tonight they barely get a real scoring chance.
	69	Juan Carlos with a pass from the left wing towards Jorge Molina who waited at the 18-yard box but against two defenders he lost the ball...
	68	Corner for Espanyol from the left side, into the arms of Adrián.
	67	A cross intended for Sergio García almost ended up in the back of the net when Adrián missed the ball!
	65	Distance shot by Víctor Sánchez, goes wide about two metres.
	64	Joan Capdevila (Espanyol) gets a yellow card for a hard foul in the midfield against Campbell.
	63	A free kick cross by Betis leads to a counter attack for the hosts but Juan Carlos stops his opponent on the right wing just in time!
	62	Espanyol also with their first change. Javi López comes in for Mattioni.
	60	Paulao (Betis) gets a yellow card for holding Sergio García and thus avoiding his break away.
	59	First change of the game. Betis' Nono leaves the pitch for Juan Carlos.
	57	Advantage for Espanyol but they don't use it. After a pass by Sergio García towards the penalty point, Stuani was clearly pushed from behind but the referee let the play continue. The ball then came to Víctor Sánchez who failed to score in the 1-on-1 with Adrián!
	56	Sergio García tried it with a direct shot after he received a pass from the right wing. No power in this ball and easy save for Adrián.
	55	Chica with a kick into the back of Simao in the midfield, lucky that he wasn't booked for that.
	54	The following corner from the other side was stopped by the Betis defense before an offensive foul gave them a free kick.
	53	Corner for Espanyol from the right side. At the second post Amaya cleared for another corner just before Colotto could get a header.
	51	The free kick cross was boxed away by Casilla. The ball then came to Chica whose shot went over the crossbar.
	50	Brutal foul by Mattioni (Espanyol) against Nacho on the left wing. Earns him a yellow card.
	49	Betis take over the initiative, similar to the end of the first period, and Espanyol wait for possbile counter attacks.
	47	The teams returned to the pitch without changes.
	46	Start of 2nd half.
		In quite an entertaining match with few real scoring chances Espanyol earned a 1-0 half time lead through an early goal by Sergio García.
		1st halftime finished.
	45+1	Pabón receives a long ball at the left outside lane, gives a header into the Espanyol area but nobody waited there.
	45	One minute is added to the first half.
	43	A long ball by Betis is cleared by the Espanyol defense.
	41	Another corner for the hosts, no danger.
	39	The Espanyol corner came in quite dangerously but the defense cleared for another corner which then was harmless.
	38	Amaya wasn't able to get away a cross by Sergio Sánchez, the following shot was blocked at cost of a corner.
	36	Corner by Betis from the left side towards the near post, headed away.
	35	Víctor Sánchez (Espanyol) gets a yellow card for an entry from the side against Nono in the midfield.
	34	Cross from the left half field for Molina. At the second post he just missed the ball! What a chance for Betis!
	32	An even more interesting situation at the other end of the pitch and the same players were involved. Pabón was brought down by Mattioni inside the area with a hard push from behind. Difficult to say if that was worth a penalty shot or not.
	31	Mattioni goes down inside the Betis area after a duel with Pabón. There was little contact... rather no penalty...
	29	Perfect lob for Sergio García who was on his way to score the next goal for Espanyol and in the last moment Nacho intercepted the ball at the 18-yard box!
	27	Two consecutive corner for the guests before Espanyol get the situation back under their controll.
	26	Nice lob into the area by Pabón but Moreno cleared at cost of a corner just before Molina could get the ball.
	24	Free kick for Betis from the left wing. Aimed directly towards the goal and an Espanyol defender had to clear for his goalkeeper who barely saw the ball!
	22	Long cross by Verdú from the right half field towards the second post. Sergio García came just one step late!
	21	The ball stays in the midfield at the moment. Both teams reorganize themselves.
	19	Joel Campbell with a cross from the left wing that was intended for Jorge Molina who waited inside the Espanyol area. The ball was a little too high though and the chance was gone.
	18	Dangerous back pass to Adrián and the Betis goalkeeper had to clear the situation with a strange volley.
	17	Long ball by Espanyol defender Héctor Moreno, into the arms of Adrián.
	16	Foul in the midfield against Stuani, avoided a fast attack.
	15	The guests from Sevilla are getting stronger now.
	14	After a cross from the half field the situation ends with a free kick for Espanyol in their own area as a Betis player commited a foul.
	13	The corner torwards the near post was cleared easily.
	13	Jorge Molina received the ball inside the Espanyol area, turned around and shot - blocked for a corner.
	12	Nono with the attempt of a cross from the right side of the Espanyol area but the ball had already passed the byline.
	11	Corner by Espanyol from the right side. The following header went over the crossbar.
	10	Betis with the chance for a counter but when the ball was sent out to Pabón it was Víctor Sánchez who jumped into the pass.
	9	The hosts keep the pressure high and area back in the Betis half.
	7	Goal for Espanyol! The guests with a cross from the left wing, Stuani with the header back to the middle where Sergio García waited and the striker used a volley shot to fire the ball into the far corner from about 20 metres distance for the early lead! The ball hit the goal post and from there it went into the back of the net!
	5	On the other side a long ball for Pabón who couldn't controll it. The game continues with a throw-in for Espanyol.
	4	Sergio García with the assist for Verdú who was in the 1-on-1 with guest goalkeeper Adrián but he was in an offside position aswell and the referee called him back.
	3	Stuani with the first good opportunity for Espanyol. He received the ball at the right side of the guest area and tried it with an immediate shot - went just wide past the right top corner!
	2	Espanyol start with their pressing early in the Betis half.
	1	Game started.
		Starting lineups: Espanyol Barcelona: Casilla - Mattioni, Colotto, H. Moreno, Capdevila - V. Sánchez, R. Rodríguez - Stuani, Verdú, Simao - S. García Real Betis: Adrián - Nacho, Amaya, Paulao, Chica - Beñat, R. Pérez, Nono - J. Campbell, Molina, Pabón Referees: Gil Manzano
		Before this matchday Espanyol Barcelona were 13th in Primera División with 28 points after 23 games. With their new head coach Javier Aguirre they not only left the last spot in the league table but they also managed to get eight points between themselves and the relegation zone. Real Betis are 8th with 36 points. Although they struggled a bit recently and fell out of the European spots, they have best chances to qualify for Europa League. After an 0-4 derby loss in Camp Nou against their archrivals FC Barcelona, Espanyol gained 13 out of 15 available points against Celta de Vigo (1-0), RCD Mallorca (3-2), Real Zaragoza (0-0), Levante UD (3-2) and Athletic Bilbao (4-0). On the other side Betis suffered in their last four matches when they played against Athletic Bilbao (1-1), Rayo Vallecano (0-3), Atlético Madrid (0-1) and Real Valladolid (0-0). The head-to-head record between Espanyol and Betis is very balanced. In the last 12 matches in Spain's top division between the two sides only one match was won by the away team. In September Betis gained a 1-0 win against Espanyol. If Espanyol can continue with their impressing series and maybe even attack the European spots or if Betis can stop their negative trend, we'll see soon.
		Welcome. Game starts at 20:00 GMT / 21:00 CET.

Commentary by

Dennis Mende

Goals & lineups

Goals: 7. García

Cards: 35. Sánchez (ESP), 50. Mattioni (ESP), 64. Capdevila (ESP), 77. Verdú (ESP) - 60. Paulao (BET), 78. Carlos (BET)

RCD Espanyol Barcelona: Casilla - Mattioni (62. J. López), Colotto, H. Moreno, Capdevila - V. Sánchez, R. Rodríguez - Stuani, Verdú (88. C. Gómez), Simao - S. García (90. Longo)

Real Betis: Adrián - Nacho, Amaya, Paulao (84. Perquis), Chica - Beñat, R. Pérez, Nono (59. Juan Carlos) - J. Campbell, Molina, Pabón (83. Ángel)

Referees: Gil Manzano