Dortmund Edge Betis in Second-Half Champions League Contest

Full-time

Borussia Dortmund claimed a 2-1 home win over Real Betis in the Champions League league stage, round four, at Signal Iduna Park. After a goalless first half, the game opened up after the interval and produced three goals in 23 minutes.

Dortmund finished with the result their overall numbers supported: 53% possession, 15 shots to Betis’ 11, and six efforts on target compared with four. The most pronounced difference came in dangerous attacks, where Dortmund recorded 68 against 28, while they also created five big chances to Betis’ two.

A scoreless opening, then a VAR intervention

The first half ended 0-0, but Betis had an early moment erased in the 13th minute. Antony was involved in a goal that was disallowed following a VAR review for offside.

There was one first-half change for Dortmund, with Konstantinos Karetsas replacing Serhou Guirassy in the 34th minute. The half also carried three bookings: Julian Ryerson and Ramy Bensebaini for Dortmund, and Natan for Betis.

Dortmund make their pressure count

The breakthrough arrived four minutes after the restart. Fábio Silva scored with his right foot in the 49th minute to put Dortmund ahead. It was a significant contribution from the forward, who was named Player of the Match with a rating of 7.9.

Dortmund’s attacking output was particularly evident inside the penalty area, where 10 of their 15 shots came from, compared with seven of Betis’ 11. They also completed 10 accurate crosses from 21 attempts, while Betis managed three accurate crosses from 13.

The home side’s wider statistical edge extended to duels and direct actions: Dortmund won 58 duels to 42, made 24 tackles to Betis’ 14, and completed 12 successful dribbles from 18 attempts. Betis completed three successful dribbles from 12 attempts.

Betis respond, Karetsas decides it

Betis made a double substitution in the 62nd minute, bringing on Isco for Antony and Aitor Ruibal for Dani Ceballos. Five minutes later, Ruibal levelled the match with a right-footed finish, assisted by Abde Ezzalzouli.

The equaliser did not stand for long. In the 72nd minute, Karetsas restored Dortmund’s lead with a left-footed strike, assisted by Fábio Silva. Having entered in the 34th minute, Karetsas delivered the winning goal and earned a 7.73 rating, the second-highest in the match.

Both teams used all five substitutions. Dortmund made three changes across the 74th and 75th minutes, then introduced Ethan Nwaneri for Fábio Silva in the 90th minute. Betis made further changes in the 70th and 78th minutes but could not find a second equaliser.

Key figures and closing moments

Dortmund completed 371 of 457 passes, while Betis completed 339 of 418; both sides posted an 81% pass-completion rate. Betis had more corners, five to Dortmund’s two, and made more interceptions, 12 to six. Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made three saves, while Álvaro Valles made four for Betis.

The match ended with four yellow cards for each team. Dortmund’s later cautions went to Joey Veerman and Jobe Bellingham; Betis’ second-half bookings were shown to Valentín Gómez, Ángel Ortiz and Isco.

For Dortmund, the second-half scoring sequence and superior chance creation secured a valuable 2-1 result. Betis found their response through Ruibal but left Dortmund with the points after Karetsas’ decisive intervention.