La Liga: Betis return to form

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Real Betis climbed to fourth on the La Liga table after a 2-0 success against Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Pepe Mel's side impressed in the early stages of the season before slumping to consecutive defeats against Atletico Madrid and Malaga.

They responded with a strong display against Sociedad, opening the scoring after 18 minutes when Juan Carlos laid on an assist for Brazilian defender Paulao.

The result was sealed when Ruben Castro scored nine minutes from time, and despite the late sending off of defender Mario, Betis were comfortable winners.

Rayo Vallecano snapped a run of three consecutive defeats with a 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna.

Piti and Jose Carlos scored in the first half for the winners, who moved to 10th as a result of their triumph.

Diego Castro's penalty was enough for Getafe to win 1-0 at Real Zaragoza while Oscar Gonzalez's 82nd-minute equaliser saw Real Valladolid claim a point in a 1-1 draw against bottom-placed Espanyol.

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