Struggling Eibar thrash Betis 5-0 in La Liga

Eibar broke their seven-match winless streak with a 5-0 rout of Real Betis, as the home side nearly equalled their scoring total for the previous 11 La Liga football games.

The victory here Monday lifted Eibar to 11 points, but leaves the Basque side in the 17th spot in La Liga, just four points above drop zone, reports Efe.

Betis, meanwhile, remain in ninth place with 17 points.

Eibar returned to the four-man backline that brought them so much success last season. They seized the initiative from the opening whistle.

The hosts took the lead in the sixth minute, when Sergi Enrich sent the ball towards the Betis goal after a fine cross from Takashi Inui and saw defender Jordi Amat deflect it past goalkeeper Antonio Adan.

Despite a high press by Eibar, the visitors continued trying to play out from the back.

It was not until the 22nd minute that Betis got anywhere near Marko Dmitrovic's net and their pleas for a penalty after the ball touched Charles' arm in the box were turned down by the referee.

Four minutes later, an unmarked Gonzalo Escalante scored from close range to make it 2-0 for the home side.

Sergio Leon had a chance to pull one back for Betis in the 53rd minute, but faltered against Dmitrovic. A minute later, Charles drew a foul from Aissa Mandi that saw the Betis defender sent off on a straight red card.

Amid protests from Betis that the foul was outside the box, Charles converted from the spot to boost Eibar's lead to 3-0.

Charles scored again in the 71st minute and Enrich added a fifth goal in the 80th right before being substituted and leaving the pitch to an enthusiastic ovation.

--IANS

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