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Carlos Vela goal lifts Real Sociedad to win over Betis

Carlos Vela's second-half goal gave Real Sociedad a 1-0 home win against Real Betis in La Liga.

The former Arsenal forward pounced from close range just after the hour mark to seal back-to-back victories at the Anoeta for the first time since February, following last week's 4-1 success over Las Palmas -- in which Vela also scored.

The hosts dominated possession but created very little in a game of few chances. An early defensive error from Inigo Martinez almost gifted Betis the lead but his goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli recovered what was a bad back-pass.

Sociedad looked threatening down both flanks and one such raid almost saw them take the lead when Willian Jose's header drew a good one-handed save from Antonio Adan.

Betis were expending a lot of energy chasing the ball but they did create a decent chance as half-time approached. Alexander Alegria found enough space to get away a shot but Rulli was equal to it, producing a one-handed stop of his own.

The game's decisive moment arrived in the 63rd minute as Vela slid to get his left foot to a low cross from Mikel Oyarzabal to tap the ball into the net at the far post.

It was enough for Sociedad to leapfrog their opponents and Alaves and climb two places to ninth in the table.