Dominating possession, Betis created their greatest chance of the first half on the stroke of halftime when Aitor Ruibals’ pass to the back post found Borja Iglesias’ head, but his goalbound shot was well blocked by lvaro Fernández, before Cabrera hooked the ball away from danger.
Betis were forced to pay for their mistake as Espanyol burst away and scored within a minute. Braithwaite was on hand to send Brian Oliváns’ deflected cross past Bravo, giving the hosts a first-half lead in La Liga this season.
Within seven minutes of the restart, the Parakeets felt they had increased their lead, but Aleix Vidals’ possible first goal of the season was ruled off due to Javi Puados’ outstretched arm colliding with Ruibal in the build-up.
As Betis struggled to find their rhythm in the second half, Manuel Pellegrini made substitutions, but the veteran manager was unable to inspire an improvement in performance, guaranteeing Espanyol earned consecutive top-flight victories for the first time since October 2021.
