Betis fulfilled the script to beat Helsinki (1-0) on the last day of the group stage of the Conference League. The Andalusians will be in the next phase of the competition and will play a qualifying round prior to the round of 16 in the month of February (13th and 20th) against Ghent or Copenhagen. According to the new competition system ordered by UEFA, this Thursday only the Conference was played in football Europe. A day with 18 games at a time and in which almost all the teams (except two of the 36) had something at stake on this sixth day. Betis, which has not had a good tournament and has been unable to qualify among the top eight, which directly enters the round of 16 with Chelsea as the great dominator, was finally in 15th position. He was unable to score a second goal and the threat of facing Chelsea itself looms in the round of 16. This Friday at 1:00 p.m. the draw will be held and it will be known whether they will face Ghent or Copenhagen. The problem is that in the round of 16, as the pairing keys are already established, it will be Chelsea or Vitoria de Guimaraes, two of the best rivals.
1
Adrián, Natan, Diego Llorente, Aitor Ruibal, Ricardo Rodríguez, Johnny Cardoso, Sergi Altimira, Abde Ezzalzouli (Jesús Rodriguez, min. 59), Assane Diao (Juanmi, min. 72), Chimy Ávila and Cédric Bakambu (Vitor Roque, min. 72)
0
Thijmen Nijhuis, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster, Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Georgios Antzoulas, Noah Pallas (Miska Ylitolva, min. 63), Georgios Kanellopoulos (Matias Ritari, min. 89), Hassane Bandé, Ozan Kökçü (Liam Möller, min. 63 ), Lucas Lingman, Santeri Hostikka (Pyry Mentu, min. 82) and Lee Erwin (Kai Meriluoto, min. 82)
Goals
1-0 min. 26: Johnny
Referee Patrick Kolaric
yellow cards
Aitor Ruibal (min. 37), Santeri Hostikka (min. 54), Georgios Kanellopoulos (min. 83), Boureima Hassane Bande (min. 91)
The green and white team also fulfilled the script of its game in this competition. Performances of little brilliance, very flat, resolved, most of the time, by the poor quality of the rival. In this case it was Helsinki. The Finnish team had been in Seville for five days doing the preseason, once their League had finished, and they gave the goal to Betis in the 27th minute of the game. An absurd departure of the ball from behind caused the theft by Cardoso, who went to the kitchen to score the Betic goal at will.
Betis offered its best minutes after Cardoso’s goal. Ávila and Diao had two clear chances, which, as usually happens to the Betic team, did not get on the scoreboard due to their lack of efficiency. While it is true that Betis carried the match with skill, it was also true that they were always exposed to Helsinki being able to score in an individual action. Given the inability to make it 2-0, they had to suffer. For example, in the 85th minute a goal against Helsinki was disallowed due to a clear offside by Antzoulas.
Helsinki pressed in the final stretch of the match against a Betis unable to manage the ball and the game. As throughout the entire competition, the Betic team won with minimal effort and without showing the best of their game. The Conference is a competition that has been choked by very inferior rivals, although it now has the option to improve in the knockout phase. Chelsea, Fiorentina and Betis, theoretically, are the three best teams in this third continental competition.
