Isco placed the ball on the spot and sent Diogo Costa the wrong way. Six minutes from the end of normal time, after Francisco Moura had tripped Ángel Ortiz inside the Porto area, the 34-year-old captain settled a thriller for Real Betis in front of 67,000 at La Cartuja.
“The atmosphere was spectacular,” Isco told reporters.
“After 21 years, we’ve got the three points for the fans.”
Real Betis had not hosted a Champions League tie since 2005, when they finished third in a group with Liverpool and Chelsea. The anthem had not been heard in Seville since, and plenty of the home end on Wednesday night had never heard it live at all.
A five-goal second half
Porto had an early goal ruled out for a handball by Borja Sainz, and the first 45 minutes ended goalless.
Abde Ezzalzouli broke it open two minutes into the second half, curling a 20-yard effort into the top corner. Gabri Veiga pulled Porto level from a free kick in the 54th, and substitute Samu Aghehowa made it 2-1 with his first touch after coming on in the 61st.
Manuel Pellegrini responded with Cucho Hernández and Dani Ceballos. In the 74th minute Hernández finished Antony’s cutback low across goal, and ten minutes later Moura caught Ortiz in the area. VAR confirmed the penalty, and Isco finished off the comeback.
A second Champions League campaign in 120 years
Pellegrini, in his seventh season at the club, reached for the long view.
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“It’s the second time that Betis have played in the Champions League in 120 years. Twenty-one years, that was the last game here.”
“That is the most important part of the game because we were trusting in the way we played. We continued playing, and in that way, we scored the other two goals.”
The win put Betis on six points from two matches after their 3-2 win at Lille on 8 September. Betis host Feyenoord next, on 21 October.
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