Castro volleyed in from a flicked-on corner in the 87th minute to decide a match which had kicked off at midday in punishing high temperatures in the southern Spanish city of Seville. The Spanish league’s timetables for the new campaign have been altered to avoid matches being played at the same time, a decision which has met with criticism from many quarters, especially over the new midday slot.
Top-flight matches are usually played in the late afternoon or evening in Spain. “I have been trying to see the person responsible for these times,” Betis coach Pepe Mel said. “Because one day something unfortunate will happen.”
Betis climbed to third with six points from two games, behind Real and Valencia on goal difference. In other games on Sunday, Osasuna registered their first win with a 2-1 home victory over Sporting Gijon. Nino and Alvaro Cejudo with a thumping volley scored within two minutes of each other in the first half before David Barral pulled one back for the visitors.
Racing Santander drew 0-0 at home to Levante, while promoted Rayo Vallecano also drew 0-0 in front of their own fans, denied their first win by Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Roberto.
Juventus win
Antonio Conte’s revamped Juventus outclassed Parma 4-1 in the first Serie A match in their new stadium but the coaches of Inter Milan and AS Roma suffered painful defeats on their league bows on Sunday in Rome.
New Inter Milan boss Gian Piero Gasperini watched his side lose 4-3 at Palermo where he started Wesley Sneijder on the bench and saw his new three-man defence badly struggle.
Udinese got over their disappointment in missing out on the Champions League group stages with a 2-0 win at Lecce while Fiorentina beat local rivals Bologna 2-0 in Florence. Among the promoted clubs, Atalanta drew 2-2 at Genoa and Novara drew 2-2 at Chievo.
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