Real Betis 3-2 Porto: Isco penalty seals a perfect start to Betis's first Champions League

Real Betis are two games into their first-ever Champions League campaign and have won both of them. Isco's 84th-minute penalty settled a back-and-forth game against FC Porto 3-2 at the Benito Villamarín, after both sides had traded punches for the better part of an hour.

Abde Ezzalzouli opened the scoring two minutes into the second half, turning in a Fran García cross, before Porto hit back twice in quick succession: Gabri Veiga's free-kick levelled it in the 54th minute, and Samu Aghehowa — on as a substitute — put the visitors ahead seven minutes later, finishing a Pepê pass. Betis responded through another substitute, Cucho Hernández, who equalised in the 74th minute from an Antony assist, before Isco stepped up to convert the penalty that won it ten minutes from time.

A chaotic hour after a cagey start

The first 47 minutes gave little hint of what followed — five goals inside the next 37, three different goalscorers coming off the bench or combining with one, and a card count that reached seven yellows by full time. Nelson Deossa and Ezzalzouli were both booked in the 56th minute, part of a tetchy spell either side of Porto's equaliser, and Dani Ceballos, Ángel Ortiz and Porto's Alan Varela all picked up cautions of their own as the game stretched into stoppage time still live at 2-2 before Isco's penalty broke the deadlock.

A historic start, built on strong domestic form

Betis opened the league phase with a 3-2 win at Lille — their first Champions League win in the club's history — and have now followed it with maximum points from two matches in a competition they are playing in for the first time. It is no real surprise given where they sit domestically: 3rd in La Liga on 19 points from eight games, with six wins and only a single defeat, a run that has carried straight through into Europe. Isco and Antony, both players with Champions League pedigree from bigger clubs earlier in their careers, were directly involved in two of Betis's three goals here.

Porto still searching for their first points

For Porto, this is back-to-back league-phase defeats after an opening 0-2 loss to Manchester City, and they leave Seville with nothing despite twice taking the lead on the night. Veiga's free-kick and Aghehowa's poacher's finish, both created inside a seven-minute spell, showed real quality, but Porto could not see the game out from 2-1 up, conceding the equaliser and then the winning penalty inside the final 20 minutes.

Match facts

• 47' — Abde Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), assist Fran García
• 54' — Gabri Veiga (FC Porto), free-kick
• 61' — Samu Aghehowa (FC Porto), assist Pepê
• 74' — Cucho Hernández (Real Betis), assist Antony
• 84' — Isco, penalty (Real Betis)
• Estadio Benito Villamarín, Seville — Champions League league phase, matchday 2, Wednesday 14 October 2026

What's next

Real Betis, 3rd in La Liga on 19 points, take six points and a historic perfect start into the rest of their first Champions League league phase. Porto, without a point from two matches, will need to turn performances that have twice produced a lead into results if they want to stay in touch with the group that reaches the knockout play-offs.