Silva and Karetsas ensure Dortmund defeat Real Betis as Guirassy limps off
| Photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images. |
Borussia Dortmund held out for a slender 2-1 victory over Champions League opponents Real Betis tonight. Despite losing Serhou Guirassy to an early injury, goals from Fábio Silva and Kostas Karetsas sufficiently outgunned their visitors from the Andalusian capital.
The hosts probably should have taken the lead with a pair of chances inside eight minutes. Twice, Serhou Guirassy failed to steer home right flank deliveries from Julian Ryerson and Jobe Bellingham. Barring an offside goal for Betis star Antony, BVB were largely on top.
Following a couple sighters from Felix Nmecha outside the box, Alvaro Vallés produced a point-blank save to keep Daniel Svensson out. Betis also appeared in the final third at the other end, notably Abdessamad Ezzalzouli testing Gregor Kobel with a curling strike.
Dortmund were dealt a blow after the half-hour when Guirassy left the field with a suspected injury. On came Kostas Karetsas in his place, but the half would end without any noteworthy moments as both Natan and Ramy Bensebaini picked up bookings for fouls.
Having knocked away on the door for most of the first-half, it took just 4 minutes for BVB to open the scoring after the break. Ryerson put a low cross into the box for Bellingham to strike. The rebound off Vallés fell nicely to Silva, thrashing in from six yards out.
It could have gotten better soon after as Karetsas failed to beat Vallés. For all the hosts' dominance, Betis grabbed a lifeline through substitute Aitor Ruibal. A costly Anton mistake surrendered the ball, enabling Ezzalzouli to find the winger at the back post who converted.
Parity existed for the guts of 5 minutes in the end. Having just pulled off another fine parry to keep our Bellingham, Vallés failed to stop Karetsas deceiving his reach with a low drive. Niko Kovač quickly looked for fresh legs in Maxi Beier and Carney Chukwuemeka.
The Westphalians had a nervous end to the night as Isco started to pull the strings off the bench. A handful of late corners fell to the club from Seville, including one that bounced right through the area. Ultimately, a vital win for BVB as their European fixtures swifty turn tricky.
