Betis held again in fight for Champions League spot
MADRID: Real Betis was held at Getafe to 0-0 in the Spanish league on Monday, missing another chance to gain momentum in the fight for a Champions League spot.
Manuel Pellegrini’s team celebrated the Copa del Rey title last week but was coming off a 1-0 home loss to Elche and another scoreless draw at Real Sociedad in the league.
The winless streak kept the Seville club from moving into the top four with four rounds to go. It sits in fith place, three points from fourth-placed Atlético and six points from city rival Sevilla in third place.
Betis hasn’t made it to the Champions League since 2005, when it was eliminated in the group stage.
The Copa title has already secured Betis a berth in the Europa League for a second consecutive season.
Getafe, which lost its previous three league games, sits in 15th place, five points above the drop zone. Getafe’s players did the guard of honor for the Betis squad before kickoff because of the Copa title.
Earlier, Real Sociedad suffered a blow in their bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top-four finish, as Radamel Falcao grabbed Rayo Vallecano a 1-1 draw.
La Real looked set to move within three points of fourth-placed Atletico Madrid with four matches remaining when Alexander Sorloth gave them a first-half lead.
But Colombian veteran Falcao came off the bench in the 77th minute and scored less than a minute later to leave Sociedad five points off the top-four pace.
It was Falcao’s sixth league goal of an injury-hit season as the 36-year-old made his first appearance for Rayo since February.
Visitors Sociedad remain in sixth place ater a third straight game without a win.
Fith-placed Real Betis can cut the gap to Atletico down to a single point on Monday when they travel to Getafe. Later on Sunday, Barcelona will be looking to reclaim second from Sevilla when they host Real Mallorca.
Real Madrid wrapped up the title on Saturday, ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester City in midweek.