Real Betis clinched their first La Liga win of the season after they fought hard to edge out Deportivo Alavés at La Cartuja, bringing an end to their four-game winless run in top-flight H2H matches.
2025/2026 La Liga
1-0
Match Report
With the Estadio Benito Villamarín undergoing refurbishment, Real Betis started their two-year residency at La Cartuja against an Alavés side full of confidence following a dramatic 2-1 win over Levante on matchday one. After netting a late winner last weekend, the visitors threatened to net an early opener when Jon Guridi drew Pau López into a desperate save inside the first two minutes. Los Verdiblancos ultimately recovered from their nervy start to hit the front through Giovani Lo Celso, who tucked the ball home after it kindly broke to him in the six-yard box from Cucho Hernández's blocked header.
Alavés were unable to produce a response before the break, and they nearly fell two behind when Héctor Bellerín tried to catch out Antonio Sivera with a near-post shot on the hour mark, only to see the goalkeeper get smartly down to his left. The contest then started to open up as Alavés ramped up their search for an equaliser, with López forced to make a diving stop from Abde Rebbach's free-kick, before Betis' Pablo García saw his driven effort tipped around the post.
The home faithful had to sit through a nervy finish as their side failed to kill the game off with the cushion of a second goal. However, crucially for Betis, they thwarted the visitors' late attacks to clinch their first La Liga clean sheet since February and take their tally to four points from two matches, sending them to the summit for the time being. Manuel Pellegrini's side will now prepare for an away clash against Celta Vigo, while El Glorioso will face the tricky test of a home meeting with giants Atlético Madrid.
Line-ups
Betis XI: Bartra, Bellerin, P. Lopez, Lo Celso, Ruibal, Firpo, Cucho Hernández, Fornals, Riquelme, Natan, Sergi Altimira
Subs: Adrian, Rodriguez, Bakambu, Chimy Ávila, Álvaro Valles, Dani Pérez, Valentín Gómez, Mawuli Mensah, Ángel Ortiz, Iván Corralejo, Pablo García
Alaves XI: Castro, Guridi, Alena, Sivera, A.Martínez, Nahuel Tenaglia, Facundo Garcés, Antonio Blanco, Carlos Vicente, Victor Parada, Pablo Ibáñez
Subs: Raúl Fernández, Mariano, Carlos Protesoni, Ander Guevara, Moussa Diarra, Calebe, Abde Rebbach, Youssef Enríquez, Lander Pinillos, Grégoire Swiderski