Real Betis bounced back from two straight defeats as a Paulao header set it up for a 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday that lifted it to fourth in the Spanish league table.
There were two set-plays which decided the game as Paulao headed Betis in front after 18 minutes from a corner and Ruben Castro also with his head added to the lead with 10 minutes to go from a Benat Etxebarria free-kick.
Sociedad found itself up against an inspired Adrian San Miguel in the Betis goal who made excellent stops from Carlos Vela and Mikel Gonzalez before the break, while Emanuel Nosa also blazed over for Betis from 10 yards out.
Betis’s Pedro Mario was dismissed two minutes from the end for his second yellow card.
The results: La Liga: Real Zaragoza 0 lost to Getafe 1 (D. Castro 64-pen); Rayo Vallecano 2 (Piti 18, Carlos 29) bt Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Pizzi 41-pen); Valladolid 1 (Oscar 82) drew with Espanyol 1 (Verdu 70-pen); Real Betis 2 (Paulao 17, Ruben Castro 81) bt Real Sociedad 0.
Serie A: Chievo 2 (Thereau 45+1, di Michele 87) bt Sampdoria 1 (Maresca 61); Genoa 1 (Borriello 52) drew with Palermo 1 (Giorgi 14).
