Brilliant Betis thrash Panathinaikos in second leg to move into Europa League quarters

[p]Having scraped a 1-0 victory seven days ago, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/panathinaikos/SENMmweG/"]Panathinaikos[/a] began the night in pole position to progress.[/p][p][b]But that changed just seven minutes in, when a speculative long-range shot from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cucho-hernandez/65KF7LTO/"]Cucho Hernandez[/a] cannoned off the bar and into the path of makeshift striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aitor-rubal/jLOnYYdH/"]Ruibal[/a], who calmly chested the ball down and rifled in to level the tie. [/b][/p][p]Panathinaikos couldn’t get into the game, and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/betis/vJbTeCGP/"]Verdiblancos[/a] should have added another three minutes later, as only a perfectly-timed tackle from Sverrir [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ingason-sverrir/zHAc6d71/"]Ingi Ingason[/a] stopped [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fornals-pablo/CfghB0gf/"]Pablo Fornals[/a] from converting at the near post after he found space inside the box.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tetteh-andrews/YXQPhNKh/"]Andrews Tetteh[/a] was a lone bright spark for the visitors, but he was guilty of squandering a promising opportunity when firing straight at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lopez-pau/rZes9CKA/"]Pau Lopez[/a] just after the half-hour mark - something that would be punished severely on the stroke of half-time, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/amrabat-sofyan/r5WUFzf3/"]Sofyan Amrabat[/a] put Betis ahead in the tie.[/p][p]Thinking he was offside when exchanging passes with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodriguez-ricardo/8EqrjqCF/"]Ricardo Rodriguez[/a], the Moroccan petulantly - and inadvertently - skied a ball to his compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ez-abde/YRiVcQ3T/"]Abde Ezzalzouli[/a]. [/p][p][b]He tried to play Rodriguez in, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sanches-renato/Kbo7UsAS/"]Renato Sanches[/a]’ attempted tackle saw him give possession back to Amrabat, who unleashed a curling exocet into the top-left corner of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lafont-alban/p64JKtYL/"]Alban Lafont[/a]’s net.[/b][/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="5b17a855-7e49-4e47-a520-54c62b1dbcab" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="dd139705-6876-4d96-8c2b-f85796fd3e03" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Having scored more than once for only the second time in six competitive outings, Betis were expected to put Panathinaikos to the sword after half-time.[/p][p][b]And within eight minutes of the restart, they were home and dry thanks to Cucho Hernandez timing a run to perfection, where he darted in to receive [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bartra-marc/8K4WA9Gh/"]Marc Bartra[/a]’s delicately lofted pass into the area and sidefoot past a helpless Lafont.[/b][/p][p]Almost inevitably, that was met with a double change from the Panathinaikos bench, but it made no obvious impact on what was quickly turning into a landslide.[/p][p]In fact, Betis only grew in strength after a double switch of their own, and netted a fourth that illustrated the gulf in class, as Cucho’s pass to Ezzalzouli set him free to burst down the left flank and zero in on goal.[/p][p][b]However, rather than try his luck at the near post from an awkward angle, he unselfishly squared back for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antony/dIe4SZEK/"]Antony[/a] to side-foot in and cap off a fine team goal.[/b][/p][embed guid="55c897e5-4ae4-47c0-ba5d-b46135a4b37a" url="https://x.com/RealBetis_en/status/2034750600542380109" social-type="twitter" /][p]Only the swift diving of Lafont prevented [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/roca-marc/0SJZRycC/"]Marc Roca[/a] from netting a fifth with a quarter hour still to play, while the same kind of defiance saw him deny Antony a brace on the night, as the former Manchester United man rushed through one on one.[/p][p]Though there was no lack of effort in their quest for a five-goal margin of victory - a feat that would have marked their first such win in a main draw European tie since 1998 - Betis ultimately declared at four, with half a mind by now on their looming quarter-final tie with fellow aggregate deficit busters Braga.[/p][p]April 9th and 16th will be circled in the Verdiblancos’ diaries for that meeting with Portugal’s greatest threat to the Big Three, after a heroic display that made a mockery of Panathinaikos’ now-tattered nine-game unbeaten run.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cucho-hernandez/65KF7LTO/"]Cucho Hernandez[/a] (Betis)[/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="36c44113-d336-4b58-ac80-a16a30f61436" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="bc4b22c3-6dcb-4682-b238-549a44b8e875" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/betis-vJbTeCGP/panathinaikos-SENMmweG/?mid=4E7ls3dB"]Click here for more on the match.[/a][/b][/p]