Real Betis' winless streak in LaLiga continues after hard-fought draw at Osasuna

Following an impressive season so far, Real Betis have seen their performance dip sharply over the past few weeks, with their firm grip on a UEFA Europa League spot now slipping considerably.

Up against Osasuna, a team that had only suffered defeats in two of their previous 11 LaLiga fixtures, Betis took control early and opened the scoring within the first 10 minutes.

Osasuna were caught out by a quick break, with Hector Bellerin delivering an excellent pass into the run of Abde Ezzalzouli, allowing the Moroccan forward to finish confidently from beyond the box.

Osasuna came close to pulling level soon after, but Valentin Gomez made an outstanding clearance to stop Jon Moncayola from scoring at the far post. Throughout the opening half, Ezzalzouli remained dangerous, prompting a superb save from Sergio Herrera with a strike from approximately 25 yards.

However, just under 10 minutes from half-time, Osasuna received a boost via a spot-kick after Gomez fouled Jorge Herrando, following Alvaro Valles' denial of Ante Budimir's headed attempt.

Before kick-off, only Vedat Muriqi and Kylian Mbappe had netted more goals in LaLiga this season than Budimir's 15, and the Croatian striker extended his haul with a successful penalty to restore parity.

Post-interval, Osasuna posed the greater threat and created two excellent opportunities for the energetic Victor Munoz to take the lead. Initially, Valles excelled in parrying his bending effort onto the bar, then Budimir inadvertently blocked his follow-up shot from near range.

Next, Iker Munoz nearly scored with a driven free-kick that skimmed the upright, prior to Ezzalzouli challenging Herrera once more as Betis mounted a notable attack.

In the end, no team managed to secure the decisive goal they desired, leaving Betis at risk of falling to sixth if Celta Vigo overcomes Real Oviedo later that Sunday.

On the other hand, Osasuna have now gone 10 home games without a loss, keeping their European aspirations intact as they trail the top six by five points with seven matches left.