Real Betisvs
FC PortoReal Betis came from behind to beat FC Porto 3-2 at La Cartuja de Sevilla on Wednesday, in a Champions League night that had no business being as chaotic as it turned out. Betis led, Porto flipped it, Betis flipped it back — and then Isco stepped up in the 84th minute and made it stick.
The first half was goalless and, by the look of what followed, almost suspiciously calm. Betis had the ball more (56% possession, 504 passes at 90% accuracy) but couldn't find a way through. Porto were comfortable sitting on 44% and waiting.
That changed almost immediately after the restart.
The Second Half Unraveled Quickly
Abde Ezzalzouli broke the deadlock in the 47th minute, finishing off a Fran García assist to give Betis the lead they'd been building toward. For about seven minutes, it looked like that might be enough.
It wasn't. Gabri Veiga equalized for Porto in the 54th, and then the match really got messy. The 56th minute brought a three-card flurry: André Silva booked for Porto, Nelson Deossa and Ezzalzouli both carded for Betis. The crowd hadn't settled from Veiga's goal and already there were three yellow cards in two minutes.
Porto used that momentum. Samu Aghehowa, set up by Pepê, put the visitors ahead in the 61st — and suddenly Betis were the ones chasing. ¡Ala gran púchica! — they'd led this match less than fifteen minutes earlier.
Alan Varela picked up a yellow for Porto in the 73rd, and a minute later Betis were level again. Cucho Hernández, assisted by Antony, pulled it back to 2-2 in the 74th. Dani Ceballos was booked in the 77th as the foul count on both sides climbed — Betis gave away 14, Porto 15.
Isco Closes It Out
With the match still alive and both sides running out of margin for error, Betis earned a penalty. Isco converted in the 84th minute, calmly, and that was the difference. Porto's Santiago Gimenez was booked in the 86th — frustration made visible — and Ángel Ortiz picked up a late card for Betis in stoppage time, but neither changed anything.
Final shots: Betis 17, Porto 11. On target: 7 to 5. Porto's goalkeeper made four saves to Betis's three, which tells you Porto had their moments but couldn't sustain them when it counted.
Our pre-match read made Real Betis the favorite at 45%, and the result bore that out — though it took a penalty with six minutes left to make it official.
Betis will feel this is exactly the kind of European night that can define a group stage run. Porto, on the other hand, showed enough to hurt teams but not quite enough to hold a lead when the pressure came back the other way. The question now is whether Porto can tighten up defensively before this campaign gets away from them — because giving up a lead like that, twice in the same half, is a pattern that won't survive much longer at this level.
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