Week 22 was one to forget for Italians in La Liga, barring Giampaolo Pazzini, as Vincenzo Montella’s Sevilla were thrashed and Daniele Bonera saw red.
Before that, however, Real Sociedad emphatically proved there was life after Inigo Martinez as they put five past Deportivo La Coruna on Friday.
La Real went into the game on the back of four straight League defeats and losing the talismanic defender to Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao.
Nonetheless, they romped to a 5-0 victory, with Willian Jose opening the scoring, before Sergio Canales, Aritz Elustondo and Asier Illarramendi (x2) all found the net in the second half.
The result lifted the Txuriurdin to 14th but kept Depor in the relegation zone, three points adrift of Levante, who drew with Real Madrid.
Montella, meanwhile, slumped to his third defeat in five League games as Sevilla boss, with Eibar coasting to a 5-1 win against the Andalusians.
Kike Garcia set the tone within the first minute, and while Pablo Sarabia’s penalty pulled the score back to 2-1, Armeros trio Ivan Ramis, Fabian Orellana and Anaitz Arbilla completed the rout.
The game also marked the second time Sevilla had conceded five goals under the former Milan Coach, whereas Eibar are now level on points with their sixth-placed rivals.
Next up were Villarreal, whose four-match winning run came to an end after they were beaten 2-1 by Real Betis.
Veteran defender Bonera was shown a straight red card in just the 31st minute for unleashing a high boot into an opponent, thereby handing the momentum to Betis.
Marc Bartra made his Verdiblancos debut after his transfer from Borussia Dortmund, but it was overshadowed by Loren Moron’s first start.
The reserve striker helped himself to a brace either side of half-time, taking Betis into the top half, despite Carlos Bacca’s late penalty.
Finally, Alaves continued their rise from the ashes under Abelardo Fernandez with a 2-1 success against high-flying Celta Vigo.
A run of seven wins in nine games had been halted by none in four, but Alfonso Pedraza and Barcelona loanee Munir El Haddadi combined to move El Glorioso five points clear of La Liga’s bottom three.
