Dortmund 2-1 Real Betis: Karetsas settles it after Ruibal's equaliser

Borussia Dortmund beat Real Betis 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday to end the Spanish side's winning start in the 2026/27 Champions League league phase. Fábio Silva put Dortmund ahead in the 49th minute, Aitor Ruibal equalised in the 67th, and Konstantinos Karetsas, 18, scored the winner in the 72nd. Both teams ended the night on nine points.

The result lifted Dortmund to 12th in the league phase table, kept out of the automatic qualification spots only on goal difference. For Betis, it was a first defeat in the competition after three wins from three.

Dortmund had 53 per cent of the ball to Betis' 47, and the chance count leaned their way: 15 shots to 11, six on target to four, five big chances to two. Expected goals read 2.58 to 0.82. Betis had more corners, five to two.

Niko Kovač said his team dictated the game for long periods and kept it under control, and noted that Dortmund lost Serhou Guirassy to injury early on. Julian Ryerson said Dortmund should have settled the match earlier.

Those two descriptions sit alongside each other rather than replacing one another. Dortmund created the better and more numerous chances; they also conceded an equaliser to a substitute five minutes after he came on, and were level at 1-1 with 18 minutes left. The winner came from the bench, Karetsas finishing low after a pass from Silva, who had opened the scoring by converting the rebound after Jobe Bellingham's shot was saved by Álvaro Vallés.

Betis' own attacking output was well below what they had produced earlier in the season. They made 146 passes in Dortmund's half here, against an average of 257.8 across their earlier 2026/27 matches in all competitions. Their expected goals here were 0.82, against an average of 1.6 across those earlier matches. Ruibal's goal, from a low Abde Ezzalzouli cross, came from a Betis move that did find a way through.

Guirassy's injury is the immediate unknown. Kovač said Dortmund lost him early on; how serious it is, and how long he might be out, is not yet known.

Their earlier form in this competition had been built on more of the ball in the opposition half and a higher expected-goals figure than they managed here. Whether that gap reflects the difficulty of the away fixture or something more lasting is a question the next matchdays will answer.