Isco's second-half penalty gave Real Betis a 1-0 win over Feyenoord in Seville on Wednesday night and maintained the Spanish side's perfect start to the Champions League. Manuel Pellegrini's team dominated — 17 shots, ten on target — but needed their captain's 59th-minute spot-kick to beat a Feyenoord side whose goalkeeper Tjark Ernst made nine saves.
Ernst frustrates Betis in a goalless half
Betis arrived on six points — wins over Lille and Porto — knowing a third straight victory would put them among the league phase's elite, and they played like it from the start, shaking off the weekend's 5-2 home defeat by Barcelona in La Liga. Abde Ezzalzouli was a menace throughout, finishing with five shots, Antony probed from the right and Isco conducted everything.
What Betis could not do was beat Ernst. The Feyenoord goalkeeper saved everything the first half threw at him — Marc Bartra twice tested him from distance, Troy Parrott had an effort kept out — and Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side, who had beaten Como in last week's 3-2 win at De Kuip, carried a counter-attacking threat through Anis Hadj Moussa that kept the home crowd honest.
The pattern owed much to Betis' midfield base. Marc Roca and Pablo Fornals screened, recycled and switched play patiently, refusing Feyenoord the transitions they thrive on, while Fran Garcia and Hector Bellerin pushed high to pin the Dutch side's wingers back. Feyenoord's best route was always Hadj Moussa's dribbling — he forced two saves from Valles across the night — but the visitors managed only eight shots in total against a defence, marshalled by Bartra and Natan, that gave up remarkably little for a side chasing a winner for an hour.
Isco holds his nerve from the spot
The breakthrough came on 59 minutes: a penalty to Betis, and Isco — captain, talisman, the player this team looks to when a game needs deciding — converted it for 1-0. Pellegrini immediately managed the lead, Dani Ceballos and Rodrigo Riquelme entering to freshen midfield and wing, and Lo Celso later replaced the goalscorer to applause.
Feyenoord pushed without ever truly threatening Alvaro Valles, who finished with three saves; Gaoussou Diarra fired off target and Ezzalzouli almost doubled the lead at the other end, Ernst denying him in the 88th minute for his ninth save of the night. There were no red cards — Riquelme was booked for Betis, Charles Vanhoutte and Mika Marmol for the visitors — as NBC Sports' live updates confirmed at full-time.
So what: Betis perfect on nine, Feyenoord stall
Betis join the nine-point group at the top of the league-phase table — a remarkable position for a club playing at La Cartuja while their own stadium is rebuilt — and a top-eight finish and a bye to the last 16 is now a realistic target rather than a dream. They travel to Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 4 on 4 November.
Feyenoord stay on three points and drift towards the wrong end of the play-off picture; their home form must now carry them, starting with Inter's visit on 3 November. A goalkeeper in Ernst's form gives them a chance in any game — but one goal scored across two away games is the problem Van Bronckhorst has to solve.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Pellegrini's Betis are the league phase's quiet miracle — three games, three wins, and a 34-year-old captain still deciding European nights from the penalty spot. This was not flamboyant; it was controlled, patient and utterly professional, the win of a team that knows exactly what it is. How far can this Betis side go? Let us know in the comments.
