Dortmund beat Betis 2-1 at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday night, with Konstantinos Karetsas scoring the winner in the 72nd minute. Fábio Silva scored the opener and provided the assist for the decisive goal.
The decisive moments
The match was goalless at half-time. Dortmund broke through four minutes after the restart, when Fábio Silva scored in the 49th minute.
Betis levelled in the 67th minute. Aitor Ruibal scored, with Abde Ezzalzouli credited with the assist.
The lead did not stay level for long. Five minutes later, in the 72nd minute, Karetsas scored from a Fábio Silva assist to put Dortmund back in front for good.
Discipline was a feature of the evening. There were eight yellow cards, four for each side. Julian Ryerson (38th minute) and Ramy Bensebaini (45+4) were booked before the break, while Joey Veerman (78th) and Jobe Bellingham (79th) followed late on. For Betis, Natan, Valentín Gómez, Ángel Ortiz and Isco were all cautioned, with Isco's card coming in the 90+3rd minute.
What the numbers say
Dortmund had the better of the shot count, with 15 attempts to Betis's 11. Six of those were on target, against four for the visitors, while each side put six shots off target. Dortmund also had three shots blocked to Betis's one.
Possession was fairly even, at 53% for Dortmund and 47% for Betis. Betis won the corner count 5-2, but it did not translate into a goal from a set piece. Dortmund committed 15 fouls to Betis's 13 and were caught offside four times, twice as often as Betis.
Dortmund have scored 1.75 goals per game this season, against Betis's 2.00. Both sides concede at a similar rate, 1.25 a game for Dortmund and 1.50 for Betis. Dortmund have yet to keep a clean sheet in the competition. Betis have one.
What it means in the table
Betis arrived having won their previous three matches, but this defeat leaves them in 11th place in the league phase table with nine points from four games. Dortmund won two of their previous three and sit one place below them, in 12th. They have the same nine points and the same goal difference of plus two.
Both clubs are currently in the positions that lead to the knockout play-offs, which are ninth to 24th. The top eight go straight through to the last 16. PSG lead the table with 12 points and a perfect four wins from four, with a goal difference of plus 15.
Dortmund's three wins from four games show they are in the mix. Betis have the same record, so the margins in this group are fine.
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