Betis marked their return to the Champions League with a strong-willed victory over Lille

Real Betis opened their Champions League main round for the first time since the 2005/06 season with an emphatic win over Lille. In the productive match of the 1st round, the Spanish club defeated the French on the road with a score of 3:2. Lille opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Ethan Mbappe completed the pass, and Ayase Ueda outran the defenders and headed the ball into the left corner of the goal. Betis won already in the middle of the first half. In the 33rd minute, Pablo Fornals found Marc Bartra with a pass in the penalty area, and the experienced defender sent the ball into the net with a header. However, even before the break, Lille took the lead again. Gaetan Perrin took the corner and Alexandro won the fight in the penalty area and fired a powerful header into the top corner of the net. Betis quickly equalized after the break. In the 49th minute, Isco served from a free-kick, and Bartra again played ahead and completed a double with his head. In four minutes, the guests were ahead. Troy Perrott received the ball in the penalty area, dealt with the defenders individually and made the score 3:2 with an accurate shot into the bottom corner. In the 56th minute, Lille remained in the minority. Ethan Mbappe received a straight red card after VAR review for unsportsmanlike conduct in one of the episodes. Despite the numerical advantage, Betis could not develop their success, and Lille tried to save the match until the final whistle. In the end, the Spanish club held on to win and marked their return to the Champions League with three points. Lille - Real Betis 2:3 Goals: Ueda, 12 Alexandro, 36 - Bartra, 33, 49, Perrott, 53 Lille: Ozer - Santos, Ngoi, Alexandro, Perrault (Onal, 88) - Andre (Kiergaard, 77), Bentaleb (Mukau, 46) - Mbappe, Perrin (Bakwa, 62), Haraldsson - Oueda (Giroud, 77) Real Betis: Vallés — Bellerin, Bartra, Nathan (Gomez, 62), Firpo (Garcia, 81) — Bernal (Rocca, 67), Isco (Fidalgo, 61), Fornals — Anthony, Perrott, Riquelme (Deossa, 81) Warning: Giroud — Nathan, Bernal, Roca Subtraction: Mbappe, 56