Real Betis defeat Lille 3-2 away in Champions League opener with Bartra brace

First-half exchanges at Stade Pierre-Mauroy

Real Betis returned to the Champions League stage on Tuesday evening at Stade Pierre-Mauroy against a Lille side managed by Davide Ancelotti. The French hosts took the initiative early, recording three attempts on goalkeeper Álvaro Valles inside the opening 15 minutes while Tiago Santos and Ethan Mbappé created space down the flanks against Junior Firpo and Héctor Bellerín. Lille broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Ethan Mbappé crossed from the right wing to the far post, where Ayase Ueda headed home without opposition. Manuel Pellegrini's side established possession through midfielders Isco and Pablo Fornals, finding an equaliser past the half-hour mark when Fornals curled a ball into the box for central defender Marc Bartra to head past Berke Özer. Lille reclaimed the lead three minutes later, as Alexsandro rose above the defense to head in a Gaëtan Perrin corner. Betis missed an opportunity to level before halftime when Troy Parrott fired an Isco pass over the crossbar.

Second-half turnaround and dismissal

Betis overturned the 2-1 deficit inside the opening eight minutes of the second half. Bartra scored his second goal of the night by flicking a header into the net from an Isco free kick delivered from near the touchline. Four minutes later, Antony dispossessed Hákon Arnar Haraldsson to initiate a fast break through Rodrigo Riquelme. Riquelme slid a through ball to Parrott, who cut past Alexsandro and finished with his left foot into the bottom corner. Before the restart, Lille were reduced to ten men when Ethan Mbappé received a straight red card for an altercation with Betis defender Natan. Pellegrini instructed Bartra to remain in defense during an 85th-minute corner, but the team maintained their advantage through late stoppage time despite Lille pushing forward.

Manager and player reactions

The match produced Betis's first goals in the competition since 1 November 2005, when Dani scored against Chelsea at the Benito Villamarín. Pellegrini stated post-match that his side managed 11 or 12 shots in the first half and close to 20 attempts in the second period against ten men.

Reaching the Champions League was not the goal, but demonstrating that against whichever team we play, we go out looking for the three points.

Parrott, who joined Betis in the summer window and recently scored in a domestic victory against Real Madrid, reflected on his tournament debut.

It is my first match in the Champions League and I was able to celebrate it with a goal, that is very special for me.

Contrast with Spanish results in Dortmund

Betis defender Junior Firpo noted after the final whistle that the team's resilience mirrored their recent performance against Real Madrid in La Liga. The victory in France contrasted with fellow Spanish representative Villarreal, who lost 3-2 away to Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park under coach Iñigo Pérez. Betis now prepare for their next domestic fixture against Villarreal on Monday.