Kostic celebrates the goal that opened the scoring at Villamarín. /
Round of 16 / First leg
The Verdiblanco team falls to Villamarín, but Fekir’s goal and Bravo’s saves keep them alive in the tie
This cheerful Betis of Pellegrini has offensive gunpowder to spare, but he also suffers from an obvious defensive fragility that hampers his many possibilities. In that Russian roulette in which he turns his matches so many times, this time Eintracht Frankfurt came out the winner. The German team took advantage of a detail of enormous quality from Kostic, able to see a shot where everyone was watching a cross, and an error by Edgar, punished by Kamada. They took a good result from Seville to Germany, which gives them an advantage in the tie, with a place in the Europa League quarterfinals at stake.
The 1-2 could have been worse if Santos Borré hadn’t missed a debatable Ruibal penalty in the second half, when the ball hit his support arm inside the Betic area. Also in case the one discussed by the stands Claudio Bravo had not insisted on disrupting every chance of Eintracht in the final stretch of the match. However, although it is not a good partial marker for Verdiblanco interests, it is not decisive either. Fekir’s goal and the Chilean goalkeeper’s worthy saves may end up being worth their weight in gold if the risky but unpredictable round-trip game pays off in Frankfurt, especially considering that the double value of goals no longer prevails at home
Betis entered the game with the plan of imposing their ball handling in midfield. However, the first Verdiblanca opportunity came in a much simpler way, with a long ball from Bravo that Canales came close to converting the goal with a left-footed shot saved by Trapp. Despite the promising start, there was a lack of clarity of ideas in the first minutes. Fekir was starting to cheer up the local parish when Kostic invented a real gem. Very leaning to the left, the Serbian raised his head, and when logic invited the center he tried an almost impossible shot, surprising Bravo. A flag goal to inflame the large German fans present at Villamarín.
The advantage prompted the enormous effort of Eintracht to dry the talent of Canales and Fekir between the lines, where they do damage. Closely watched by the Cantabrian and the Franco-Algerian by the German intensity, the offensive possibilities of Betis were considerably reduced. The duel was turning into a rough one, with little fluidity in the game, an unfavorable scenario for Pellegrini’s men. They painted coarse but when you have the quality any gap is good. He stole Betis, led against Canales and found Fekir stuck to the right side, from where he polished his left foot to make the tie.
Round trip
Beticismo breathed with the appearance of the good, but the joy lasted just a moment. Edgar made two fatal errors, as he first failed to deliver and then was soft against Lindström, who made such a good concession to serve the 1-2 on a plate to Kamada. Betis did not seem to suffer too much from the blow, faithful to his style in the face of any adversity. Juanmi lacked good control when he stood alone against Trapp after a great leaked ball from Fekir and the feeling at half-time was of excessive punishment for the local team, with good sensations in attack but failing in defense.
The game resumed and another bad news arrived. Ruibal’s penalty was more than debatable, since the ball hit his support arm without the center-back being able to do anything to avoid it. There was poetic justice and Santos Borré executed the launch fatally, centered and loose, easy for Bravo. Saved Betis from burning, the match went completely crazy, with a fast-paced back and forth. Eintracht did not shy away from the clash despite their advantage and the result forced Betis to make a brave bet. The truth is that the Germans generated more in the final stretch and Bravo kept Betis alive in the tie.
