Real Betis welcomed their green-and-white brothers Celtic to the Benito Villamarin this evening to get the 2021/22 Europa League campaign up and running. Both clubs, proud of their history and their cultural identity, share links going back years, although all that went out the window as soon as the first whistle sounded.
Bayer Leverkusen and Ferencvaros make up the rest of the group. Betis have had a middling start to the season and currently sit ninth in La Liga, with one win, two draws and a defeat from four games. Celtic, having won three and lost two of their opening five games in the Scottish Premiership, sit fifth in the table.
It was the visitors from that took a 15th minute lead. Celtic won the ball and countered quickly, going from back to front in seconds. The ball was then centred from the right side for Albian Ajeti, who bundled it over the line.
Josip Juranovic doubled their lead 12 minutes later from the spot, but Betis began the comeback soon after; Juan Miranda stabbed home after an incisive attack from the home side before Juanmi cooly converted in the box after being teed up by Borja Iglesias. Betis had gone from 2-0 down to 2-2 in less than ten minutes, and remarkably made it 3-2 in the 51st minute through Iglesias.
