SEVILLA SHINES AS LA LIGA RETURNS

Lucas Ocampos gave Sevilla the lead from a 56th-minute penalty and Fernando Reges then added the second goal for the home side

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Sevilla beat local rival Real Betis, 2-0, as La Liga returned after three months away on, becoming the second of Europe’s five major leagues to resume following the coronavirus pandemic.

After the Bundesliga in Germany restarted on 16 May, La Liga opened its doors again to players but not supporters at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where the usually vibrant Seville derby was played in front of empty stands.

The game was the first in Spain’s top flight since 10 March but 93 days later another professional fixture has been completed without incident, offering further encouragement to the Premier League in England and Serie A in Italy.

Both are set to return next week.

Lucas Ocampos gave Sevilla the lead from a 56th-minute penalty and Fernando Reges then added the second goal for the home side, which is third in the table.

This was the first leg of a 39-day sprint to the finish in La Liga that will see teams playing every three days for five and a half weeks and undergoing stern examinations of their fitness.

Both coaches made use of their new allocation of five substitutes and there was a drink breaks in each half, but the contest lost its fluency late on, in part because Betis never looked like staging a comeback.

Victory strengthens Sevilla’s hold on third place as it moves four points above Getafe and Real Sociedad below it. Betis sits 12th and faces the possibility of being dragged into a relegation battle.

This was as far from a typical Seville derby as could be imagined, a pale shadow of the division’s most heated fixture and a clear demonstration of what has been sacrificed to keep the season going.