La Real have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey after falling to Real Betis 3-1 at the Villamarín. The side from San Sebastián took the lead in the first half but the hosts came back following Oyarzabal’s opener thanks to strikes by Canales and Borja, who scored the winning goal in extra time.
A fast start from both sides was to be expected. La Real enjoyed the opening chance and took the lead when Gorosabel crossed and Oyarzabal fired home. There haven’t been any goalscoring incidents of note in the first half and Betis didn’t cause any problems.
After the break, things took a turn for the worse when Mateu Lahoz made a mistake. The referee showed Illarra a second yellow card for committing a foul on Sidnei. The Betis player pretended in an unacceptable and disgraceful way. Lahoz misinterpreted the action and Illarra was sent off. La Real were down to ten men in the second half. Then, it was Real Betis who enjoyed the opening chance, with Lainez trying his luck after Remiro’s rebound. La Real spent the whole of the second half a man down but had chances to extend their lead through Portu. The txuri urdin player could have decided it but the hosts' goalkeeper won the battle in a one-on-one, clearing the ball from the edge of the box. Later, Sanabria was shown a second yellow card and Betis were reduced to ten men too. Nevertheless, Betis were level when Canales turned into the back of the net with a left-footed shot. With the score level the tie went into extra-time for another 30 minutes of play.
Real had a good start to the extra time with Barrenetxea and Januzaj trying their luck but denied by Joel. However, Betis took the lead as Borja beat Remiro. Merquelanz came close but couldn’t get back on level terms. Finally, Borja Iglesias headed home and clinched the victory for the hosts.
Now, it’s time to focus on LaLiga and the next challenges ahead. Aupa Real!
Match sheet:
Real Betis: Joel Robles, Montoya (Emerson, min.116), Mandi (cap), Sidnei (Víctor Ruiz, min.56), Alex Moreno, Paul (Borja Iglesias, min.85), Fekir (William, min.85), Lainez (Joaquín, min.67), Canales, Tello (Rodrigo, min.67) and Sanabria.
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Gorosabel (Januzaj, min.85), Aritz (Carlos Fernández, min.91), Le Normand, Monreal, Illarra (cap), Merino, Guridi (Zubeldia, min.54), Oyarzabal (Zubimendi, min.64), Portu (Barrenetxea, min.85) and Isak (Merquelanz, min.65).
Goals: 0-1: Oyarzabal, min.13. 1-1: Canales, min.78. 2-1: Borja Iglesias, min.96. 3-1: Borja Iglesias, min.111.
Referee: Mateu Lahoz. Cautioned Lainez and Víctor Ruiz for Real Betis and Le Normand for Real Sociedad. Sent off Illarra (min.48) and Sanabria (min. 75).
