Betis survives Osasuna comeback scare, closes it out 5-2 with Isco brace

Isco converted a penalty in the 9th minute, and what followed was a goal-filled afternoon at La Cartuja: Real Betis ended up thrashing Osasuna 5-2 in a match that got far dicier than it should have right after halftime, just when it looked all but decided.

The opening script played out exactly as expected in Seville. Isco got the scoring going from the penalty spot after Unai Santos fouled Rodrigo Riquelme inside the box, and just 21 minutes later Abde Ezzalzouli doubled the lead with a low finish from the center of the area, set up by a through ball from Cucho Hernandez. Betis went into the break up 2-0, and things only got worse for the visitors right after the restart: in the 47th minute, an own goal from Ante Budimir made it 3-0 and appeared to settle the matter.

A comeback nobody saw coming

But Osasuna refused to fold. Three minutes after the own goal, Budimir himself popped up to pull one back with a left-footed strike, a goal that stood after a VAR review. Then just five minutes later, Raul Garcia made it 3-2 off a corner kick, assisted by Alejandro Catena. In the span of eight minutes, a match that looked all but over turned into a genuine fight.

Betis, though, had answers. Isco struck again in the 66th minute with a left-footed shot into the top corner to restore breathing room at 4-2, and deep into stoppage time, in the 95th minute, Jose Antonio Morante put the finishing touch on the rout with a strike from outside the box, assisted by Hector Bellerin, to make it a final 5-2.

What the numbers show

Betis's dominance showed up in the match stats, though Osasuna had no shortage of danger of its own:

Betis fired off 20 shots to Osasuna's 11, and by our post-match xG estimate, the hosts generated 2.52 expected goals against 1.49 for the visitors, a gap that backs up the home side's greater offensive threat despite the second-half scare. Notably, though, Osasuna actually had more big chances, 2 to 1, a sign of just how clinical it was in the few moments it managed to cause trouble.

Pre-match, our projection gave Real Betis a 57% chance of winning, against 25% for a draw and 18% for an Osasuna win, with expected goals of 1.94 for the hosts and 1.03 for Osasuna. The final scoreline ended up far more lopsided than projected, though the outcome itself, a home win, matched expectations.

What it means in the standings

With this result, Real Betis stays in third place with 19 points from 8 matches played, just one point behind second place, with a record of 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss so far this season. Osasuna, meanwhile, sits in 15th with 8 points from 8 matches (2 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses), an 11-point gap between the two sides in the LaLiga table.

The match leaves a clear picture: a Betis side that was the better team for almost the entire ninety minutes, with Isco the standout performer after scoring twice, but one that also showed cracks that Osasuna exploited in a span of just eight minutes to put a scare into La Cartuja before the home side's quality ultimately took over down the stretch.