Real Betis needed a response after Porto went 2-1 up in Seville, and they got one. They scored twice in the last 16 minutes to win 3-2 and make it two Champions League wins from two.
The story of the night
Betis took the lead just after the restart, in the 47th minute. Porto hit back almost immediately, equalising in the 54th and going ahead in the 61st. The 2-1 scoreline held until the 74th minute, when Betis levelled. They then found a winner in the 84th. The second half had five goals’ worth of drama and a flurry of yellow cards. Betis had 54% of the ball, 16 shots to Porto’s 11, and 7 shots on target to 5.
A fitting opponent
These two had never met competitively before. Their only previous meeting of note was the 1935 Iberian Cup, where Porto won 4-2. Betis had just won the one La Liga title in their history, and Porto were the first Primeira Liga champions. Betis finally got some measure of revenge, 91 years later. (Wikipedia)
What it means
Betis opened their campaign with a 3-2 win at Lille. Two matches in, they have six points and the kind of momentum that makes a first Champions League run in two decades feel real. This is only their second Champions League campaign, after 2005/06. (uefa)
Porto are in the competition for a record-extending 28th time for a Portuguese club, but their first in three seasons. They lost their opener 2-0 to Manchester City, so they are now pointless after two games and will want to stop the defensive leaks fast. (uefa) (squawka)
What’s next
Betis host Feyenoord on October 21, then travel to Dortmund on November 4. If they keep scoring like this, their fixtures will be tense. The tie against Arsenal and the trip to Bayern in January are the real tests, and that is a problem for a later column.
If you want, I can put this in a file, or rewrite it with a different tone, such as a Betis fan’s voice or a neutral match report.