Sports
Europa League: Real Betis hold Braga to 1-1 draw in q’final first leg
Real Betis battled back to secure a 1-1 draw against Braga in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
The hosts struck early through Florian Grillitsch, who cleverly finished with a near-post backheel to give Braga the advantage.
Betis responded in the second half, with Cucho Hernandez calmly converting from the penalty spot to restore parity and keep the tie finely balanced heading into next Thursday’s second leg in Seville.
Both teams had shown their fighting spirit in the round of 16, producing four-goal performances in their respective second legs to overturn deficits and book their places in the quarter-finals.
Braga seized the advantage at their picturesque Estadio Municipal home in the fifth minute as Austrian Grillitsch darted to the front post from a low corner and turned a slick backheel past Pau Lopez in the Betis net.
At the other end, Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek was in excellent form as he produced fine saves to deny Marc Bartra, Abde Ezzalzouli and Hernandez in the first period.
The Czech’s resistance was broken on 61 minutes, however, as Colombian Hernandez sent him the wrong way from the spot after Jean-Baptiste Gorby had scythed down Ezzalzouli in the box.
The other quarter-final first legs take place on Thursday with Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest making the trip to Portugal to take on Porto.
Aston Villa visit Coppa Italia winners Bologna and Freiburg welcome Celta Vigo.
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