Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Real Betis: result and report

The Pundit picked Borussia Dortmund (53%): correct

Report

Borussia Dortmund beat Real Betis 2-1 in the Champions League. The margin was one goal, but the gap between the sides was much wider than that.

The first half finished goalless, yet Dortmund broke through soon after the restart. Jobe Bellingham set up Fábio Silva on 49 minutes. Real Betis drew level on 67 minutes when Abde Ezzalzouli teed up Aitor Ruibal, but the equaliser lasted only five minutes. Fábio Silva returned the favour for Konstantinos Karetsas, who scored the winner on 72 minutes.

The chance numbers show why Dortmund deserved it. They finished with 3.07 xG to Real Betis's 0.81, created five big chances to two and had 13 key passes to nine. Because they also had 68 dangerous attacks to 28, this was a game played mostly around the Real Betis box rather than an even contest settled by one moment.

Dortmund's pressure backs that up. Their average pressure was far higher than Real Betis's across the match, while they also had more shots, 12 to nine, and more on target, six to four.

Still, Dortmund made hard work of it. They missed four of their five big chances, so a match they spent long spells on top of stayed at 1-0 well into the second half. Real Betis needed only one good move to level. That is the risk of leaving a dominant performance unrewarded on the scoreboard.