Borussia Dortmund beat Real Betis 2-1 at home on Wednesday night, with Konstantinos Karetsas scoring his first goal for the club five minutes after Betis had equalized, and sueddeutsche.de reported that the win moves Dortmund to three victories in four Champions League-phase games. Playing in front of 81,365 spectators, Dortmund took the lead through Fabio Silva in the 49th minute before Aitor Ruibal leveled for the visitors in the 67th; Karetsas then struck a placed left-footed shot in the 72nd minute for the winner.
Karetsas’ first Dortmund goal decides a tight 2-1 win
Dortmund dominated possession and attacked mainly down the right side through Julian Ryerson, but wasted several early chances, including a shot by Serhou Guirassy that went just wide in the third minute. An apparent Betis goal by Antony in the 14th minute was disallowed for offside, and Dortmund’s momentum stalled when Guirassy had to leave the field with muscular problems; nordsee-zeitung.de reported the substitution came in the 34th minute, with Karetsas replacing him behind striker Fabio Silva.
After halftime Dortmund pressed Betis into their own half. Ryerson again drove in from the right, Jobe Bellingham’s initial shot was saved by Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles, and Silva tapped in the rebound for the 1-0 in the 49th minute. Betis hit back on the counter when Waldemar Anton lost the ball and Ruibal finished from close range in the 67th. Five minutes later Karetsas cut in from the edge of the penalty area and fired low into the net, sending Dortmund’s players celebrating in front of the south stand.
Karetsas, the young Greek who had collapsed on the pitch during his first Champions League home game for Dortmund against Villarreal two months earlier, was named player of the match. Speaking to DAZN, he said he was grateful for the moment and called it a great team effort. nordsee-zeitung.de quoted him as saying he felt great, adding that Silva deserved the man-of-the-match award because he had a goal and an assist. Karetsas also said he had come on relatively unprepared — “I came from the toilet, I didn’t get many instructions” — after the early change forced by Guirassy’s injury.
Anton took responsibility for the turnover that led to Betis’ equalizer. “That’s on me,” he said, according to nordsee-zeitung.de, adding that the team was there in the decisive phases. Head coach Niko Kovac, who had used a four-man defense against Bayern Munich, returned to a three-man back line with Anton in the center for this match; Marcel Sabitzer was a late withdrawal because of illness. Kovac said there was “only one direction: we want to win.”
Como 1907 breaks the Champions League’s biggest winning margin since 1992
In the night’s other standout result, Champions League debutants Como 1907 crushed RC Lens 9-1 away, a scoreline that breaks the record for the reformed competition dating to 1992, sueddeutsche.de reported. The previous mark was an 8-0 win, shared by Liverpool against Besiktas in 2007 and Real Madrid against Malmo in 2015.
🌟 Konstantinos Karetsas scored his first goal for Borussia Dortmund as a substitute against Real Betis in the Champions League 🇬🇷 ⚽️#Karetsas #BVB #UCL pic.twitter.com/AH58RvZi6L
Greek striker Anastasios Douvikas scored twice in the first half and completed a hat trick with the 6-0 in the 57th minute. German defender Marc-Oliver Kempf also found the net, and Matteo Papaccioli added the ninth in the second minute of stoppage time; the halftime score was 3-0. Como, coached by former Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas, had already beaten RB Leipzig and Manchester United 4-1 each this season and sits fourth in the league-phase table.
Liverpool lose at Fenerbahce as Real Madrid escape late in Athens
Liverpool suffered their first points loss of the Champions League campaign, losing 2-3 at Fenerbahce in Istanbul despite goals from Trey Nyoni in the 25th minute and Alexander Isak in the 69th. Mason Greenwood equalized in the 29th and Archie Brown in the 73rd, before Vedat Muriqi scored the winner for the hosts in the 79th. Summer signing Florian Wirtz came on as a substitute but could not prevent the late defeat.
Record winners Real Madrid avoided a last-minute setback at AEK Athens, winning 3-2 after Federico Valverde scored in the second minute of stoppage time, extending their winning run across all competitions to seven games. Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Prague, a result that extended the Czech club’s winless Champions League run to 23 games since its debut in 2007 — a streak matched only by AEK Athens and Steaua Bucharest, as sueddeutsche.de noted.
Bartra returns to Dortmund eight years after the bus bombing
Before the match, former Dortmund defender Marc Bartra received a warm welcome from the home fans on the south stand, with a banner displayed on the stadium facade, nordsee-zeitung.de reported. Bartra, 35, was the only player physically injured in the April 2017 bomb attack on Dortmund’s team bus and was returning to the stadium with Betis, though he did not start. In an interview with the Sportinformationsdienst, he said he had to overcome very difficult moments and had learned to value life, football and the people around him even more; he said Dortmund would always hold a special place in his heart.
Champions League: Konstantinos Karetsas schießt Borussia Dortmund zum Sieg über Real Betis dlvr.it/TWBtVS pic.twitter.com/AHdDI5b73e
Dortmund’s route to the round of 16 runs through Arsenal
With nine points from four league-phase matches, Dortmund is within range of direct qualification for the round of 16. The club’s toughest remaining tests come next: a trip to Arsenal on Nov. 24, followed by home or away fixtures against Inter Milan and Aston Villa, according to sueddeutsche.de.
Questions fans are asking about this Champions League matchday
Who scored for Dortmund against Betis? Fabio Silva scored in the 49th minute and Konstantinos Karetsas — netting his first competitive goal for the club — made it 2-1 in the 72nd minute; Aitor Ruibal had equalized for Betis in the 67th.
Dortmund plays its next Champions League match on November 24 against FC Arsenal. Dortmund travels to Arsenal on Nov. 24, with matches against Inter Milan and Aston Villa to follow in the league phase.
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