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European roundup: Sevilla win to close gap at top; Dortmund slip to draw

27-Feb-2022 19:40:10 | The Guardian

• Sevilla six points behind Real Madrid after beating Real Betis 2-1
• Augsburg come back to dent Dortmund’s slim title hopes

Second-placed Sevilla defeated their bitter rivals Real Betis 2-1 on Sunday to close the gap on the La Liga leaders Real Madrid to six points. Julen Lopetegui’s team dominated the derby from the beginning and Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a penalty after the goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had tripped the striker Youssef En Nesyri in a one-on-one challenge inside the area.

Four minutes before the break Munir El Haddadi, who had come on minutes earlier for the injured Papu Gomez, took advantage of a mistake from the Betis defence to win the ball and put a low cross-shot between Bravo and his left post. Sergio Canales scored the consolation goal for Betis in stoppage time with a perfect free-kick from the edge of the box that went into the top-left corner.