Karetsas Scores First Dortmund Goal to Beat Real Betis 2-1 in the Champions League

Borussia Dortmund beat Real Betis 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night in Matchday 4 of the Champions League league phase. The match kicked off at 20:00 UTC, the first half ended goalless, and all three goals arrived in a 23 minute spell after the break.

A goalless first half and an early change

The first half brought no goals, but it brought the change that shaped the rest of the night. Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy went off injured in the 34th minute, and coach Niko Kovac sent on 18 year old Konstantinos Karetsas in his place. The teams went in at half time at 0-0, with the match still waiting for a breakthrough.

Silva scores, Ruibal answers

Fabio Silva opened the scoring in the 49th minute. Julian Ryerson picked out Jobe Bellingham, whose first time shot was parried by Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles, and Silva pounced on the rebound to put Dortmund in front.

Betis, coached by Manuel Pellegrini, answered in the 67th minute. A Dortmund defensive mistake opened the way for a low cross from Abde Ezzalzouli, and substitute Aitor Ruibal turned it in to level the match on his first ever Champions League appearance.

Karetsas settles it five minutes later

The level score lasted five minutes. In the 72nd minute Silva turned provider and set up Karetsas, who drove a low left foot shot inside the near post for the winner. It was the first goal Karetsas has scored for Dortmund since he arrived at the club in the summer, and it came from a player who had started the night on the bench.

What it means

The win stretched Dortmund's unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions. For Betis the defeat was the first time they have dropped points in this league phase, after wins in each of their first three matches, and their first loss of the campaign in the competition.

Dortmund finished with 15 shots to 11 for Betis, and six shots on target to four. Betis won five corners to Dortmund's two. The referee was Serdar Gozubuyuk.

In another Matchday 4 final on Wednesday night, FC Porto beat Napoli 4-1 at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto.