Valencia move into second place with thrilling defeat of Betis
Valencia climbed to second in La Liga, but only after Real Betis threatened to stage a remarkable fightback before succumbing to a 6-3 loss.
The free-scoring visitors looked home and dry as they moved into a 4-0 lead in the 74th minute at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, but 10 minutes later Betis had got it back to 4-3, only for Valencia to finally kill the game with two more goals at the death.
Unbeaten Valencia made it 17 goals in their last four games as they recorded a fourth straight win, moving a point ahead of Real Madrid and four behind Barcelona.
A bizarre game featured seven goals in under half-an-hour in the second half as Joel Campbell, Antonio Sanabria and Cristian Tello netted with smart finishes in a six-minute spell from the 79th minute to put Betis on the verge of a stunning comeback.
But Valencia avoided that embarrassment thanks to strikes from Simone Zaza and Manchester United loanee Andreas Pereira.
The visitors had looked set to win in far more routine circumstances when goals from Geoffrey Kondogbia and Goncalo Guedes put them two up at the break and, after Betis' Sergio Leon saw his penalty saved by the legs of Neto, Rodrigo and Santi Mina made it 4-0.
