Real Betis comeback sinks ten-man Lille on Champions League return

Real Betis comeback sinks ten-man Lille on Champions League return

Real Betis twice came from behind to beat Lille 3-2 and mark their return to Europe’s elite competition with victory in France.

Lille started strongly and took the lead through Ayase Ueda, who headed in his second goal in as many games after a well-weighted delivery from Ethan Mbappe.

Betis responded when Marc Bartra met Pablo Fornals' whipped cross with a diving header, only for Lille to regain their advantage before half-time through Alexsandro's header from Gaetan Perrin's corner.

The Spanish side levelled again just three minutes after the restart when Bartra got a slight touch to Isco's free-kick, directing the ball beyond Berke Ozer.

Former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott completed the comeback in the 53rd minute, taking the ball around 30 yards from goal before advancing and firing a low left-footed effort into the far corner.

Parrott also scored the only goal in Betis' LaLiga victory over Real Madrid on Friday, continuing his impressive start since joining from AZ Alkmaar for 16 million euros last month.

"I'm really happy for Troy, scoring two goals in two matches is huge for him," Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini said.

Lille's hopes of recovering were further damaged three minutes later when Mbappe, brother of Real Madrid star Kylian, was shown a straight red card after appearing to elbow Betis defender Natan in the face.

The hosts continued to push despite being reduced to 10 men and brought on former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud among their attacking reinforcements.

Betis, though, withstood the late pressure to secure three points on their return to the Champions League after a 21-year absence. 

READ MORE: Pitso Dladla backs Arrows players to chase Bafana ambitions