European football: Betis and Bellerín deny Real Madrid, Eta’s Union lose at Leipzig

Héctor Bellerín struck deep into stoppage time to earn Real Betis a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid on Friday, dealing another blow to the visitors’ fading title hopes.

Álvaro Arbeloa’s side appeared on course for a narrow win after taking the lead in the 17th minute. Federico Valverde let fly from outside the box and the Betis goalkeeper, Álvaro Valles, could only parry the ball into the path of Vinícius Júnior, who reacted swiftly to guide a neat finish just inside the right post.

Jude Bellingham nearly made it 2-0 soon after, but Betis gradually grew into the contest and began to threaten. Andriy Lunin kept the visitors ahead before half-time with three sharp saves to deny Cedric Bakambu and Antony. Madrid resumed control after the break but were wasteful in front of goal.

Kylian Mbappé endured a frustrating evening, blazing over from a Trent Alexander-Arnold pass and later seeing a goal ruled out for offside. Lunin continued to shine, producing a stunning one-handed save to deny Cucho Hernández in the 65th minute and another fine stop from Natan nine minutes later.

Vinícius squandered a gilt-edged chance after a dazzling run from the left as Madrid failed to put the game beyond reach, and they paid the price in the 93rd minute. Ferland Mendy lost possession to Antony inside the box and the ball broke kindly for Bellerín, who drove a low effort through a forest of legs and into the net.

“In situations like this, there’s not much to think about. I’m not one for shooting from distance; I look for the cross. Amidst all the legs, it went in,” Bellerín told Dazn. “I think we were in control for most of the match and deserved more than just a point. They’re a brilliant team, but we had plenty of chances.”

Real Madrid sit eight points behind leaders Barcelona, who could stretch their advantage to 11 points with victory over Getafe on Saturday. Barça could seal back-to-back titles against their bitter rivals in the clásico at Camp Nou on 10 May.

RB Leipzig defeated Union Berlin 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday, handing coach Marie-Louise Eta her second defeat in as many games in charge. Max Finkgräfe, Romulo and Ridle Baku scored as Leipzig earned a fifth straight victory, in a game overshadowed by sexism allegations over a social media post.

Eta, who is the first female coach in the Bundesliga, has been the subject of a torrent of sexist abuse on social media. Leipzig were accused of joining in on Thursday when they responded to a post on X from Union saying it was a “nice city”.

RB Leipzig’s account posted photos of Eta posing with former Leipzig coach Marco Rose and former players Dominik Szoboszlai and Emil Forsberg. The caption read: “Your head coach didn’t just find the city pretty nice ...”

Finkgräfe opened the scoring in the 22nd minute by thumping Leopold Querfeld’s headed clearance inside the right post. Brazilian forward Romulo shrugged off Querfeld’s weak challenge to score three minutes later, and Union suffered another blow when keeper Frederik Rønnow had to go off injured, replaced by Carl Klaus.

Though her team improved after the break, Eta made three changes around the hour mark, only for Yan Diomande to set up Baku for the third. Danilho Doekhi scored Union’s consolation with a header in the 77th minute, and substitute Ilyas Ansah thought he scored another in stoppage time, only to have it ruled out for offside.

Union Berlin’s head coach Marie-Louise Eta oversaw a 3-1 defeat to third-placed RB Leipzig. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA

In Ligue 1, Lens came back from 3-0 down at mid-table Brest to rescue a 3-3 draw, but still handed reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain an advantage in the title race.

Last week, Lens allowed two early goals against Toulouse but bounced back to win 3-2; this time Pierre Sage’s side gave themselves an even bigger mountain to climb. A seventh-minute opener from Daouda Guindo was followed by goals from Lucas Tousart and Junior Dina Ebimbe as the hosts went into the break in total command.

Lens have shown impressive resilience this season to launch an unexpected title title, and substitute Florian Thauvin pulled them back into the game on the hour mark. Abdallah Sima added a second four minutes later and Allan Saint-Maximin completed the comeback in stoppage time when he curled in a dramatic equaliser.

PSG hold a three-point advantage over Lens with a game in hand; the two sides meet at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in a delayed title showdown on 13 May.

Allan Saint-Maximin (right) scored a late equaliser to earn Lens a point at Brest. Photograph: Fred Tanneau/AFP/Getty Images

Napoli cruised to a 4-0 win at home to Cremonese on Friday, a result which means Serie A leaders Inter will have to wait another week to secure the title.

Napoli are second in the standings on 69 points, nine behind Inter who are away to Torino on Sunday. Cremonese remain deep in relegation trouble, level on 28 points with Lecce, who travel to Verona on Saturday.

Scott McTominay opened the scoring early on, collecting Kevin De Bruyne’s pass and taking a touch before rifling a low shot into the bottom corner of the net for his ninth league goal of the season. Napoli doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time with an own goal, Rasmus Højlund’s shot deflecting in off Filippo Terracciano.

Antonio Conte’s side finished the game off in first-half stoppage time, with McTominay making an acrobatic pullback from the byline to keep the ball in play before De Bruyne drilled his shot beyond Audero. Alisson Santos added a fourth in the 52nd minute, finishing from the edge of the area after a long solo run.