Real Betis made life far more difficult for themselves in the race for a place in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, suffering a painful defeat away to Panathinaikos in Athens. The match was decided by a late penalty, leaving Manuel Pellegrini’s side facing serious pressure ahead of the return leg.

The Spanish club struggled to find rhythm throughout the game. Despite dominating possession, Real Betis lacked creativity in the final third and rarely managed to truly trouble the Greek defence. Cucho Hernandez produced two dangerous efforts, but goalkeeper Alban Lafont remained solid between the posts.

The turning point appeared to arrive when Anass Zaroury was sent off for a foul on Abde Ezzalzouli, leaving Panathinaikos with ten men for the final thirty minutes. At that stage it seemed only a matter of time before Real Betis would capitalise on their numerical advantage.

Instead, the opposite happened. Down a man, Panathinaikos defended with even greater discipline and organisation, frustrating the visitors and gradually growing in confidence.

The decisive moment came in the closing minutes. Diego Llorente committed a clumsy challenge inside the penalty area, and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Taborda stepped up and converted the penalty with composure, sending the Athens crowd into celebration.

2025-26, Europa League

Panathinaikos - Real Betis 1:0 (0:0)
Goals: Taborda, 88 (penalty) (1:0)

Panathinaikos: Lafont; Calabria; Katris; Ingason S.; Kyriakopoulos; Sanches R.; Gnezda Cerin (Siopis, 83); Pellistri (Djuricic F., 90); Taborda (Andino, 90); Tetteh (Świderski, 83); Zaroury (till 59)
Substitution: Siopis (from 83); Świderski (from 83); Djuricic F. (from 90); Andino (from 90)
Bench: Kotsaris; Chirivella; Pantovic
Yellow Cards: Zaroury 48, 59
Red cards: Zaroury 59'

Real Betis: Pau Lopez; Diego Llorente (till 86); Natan (Gomez Val., 46); Rodriguez (Júnior Firpo, 68); Altimira (Deossa, 79); Fornals (Bartra, 89); Ezzalzouli (Riquelme R., 68); Roca; Antony M.; Cucho; Ruibal
Substitution: Gomez Val. (from 46); Júnior Firpo (from 68); Riquelme R. (from 68); Deossa (from 79); Bartra (from 89)
Bench: Valles; Adrian; Bellerin; Fidalgo; Garcia P.; Chimy Ávila; Bakambu
Yellow Cards: Natan 17; Diego Llorente 66, 86; Júnior Firpo 75; Pau Lopez 87
Red cards: Diego Llorente 86'