SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid’s already slim hopes of winning La Liga took another blow Friday when Real Betis scored the equalizer in stoppage time in a tumultuous 1-1 contest.
Madrid are eight points behind league leaders Barcelona with five games remaining. Barcelona have a match against Getafe on Saturday.
The match got off to a good start for visiting Madrid, with Vinicius Junior scoring his second goal in four days. Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles could only parry Federico Valverde’s long-range shot, and the Brazilian striker chased it down for the rebound.
However, Betis were not overwhelmed and Andriy Lunin, who replaced the injured Thibaut Courtois in goal, made at least two world-class saves to keep his team in the game.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé’s goal was chalked off for offside and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant assist was annulled.
Betis continued to attack in search of an equalizer, and it came in the closing stages.
Ferland Mendy went down and complained of a foul, but the referee allowed play to continue and former Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin calmly scored with a side-footed goal inside a packed penalty area, to the delight of 54,000 fans at Betis’ Estadio La Cartuja.
With this result, Madrid have failed to win in five of their last six games in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Betis are in fifth place, six points behind Getafe and seven points behind Atletico Madrid.
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