Real Betis 2-4 Braga (agg 3-5) highlights: Braga comeback shocks Betis in Europa League quarter-final second leg

Braga produced a comeback for the ages as they responded to conceding two early goals to beat Real Betis 4-2 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate to reach their first Europa League semi-final in 15 years, where they'll play Freiburg.

Match in brief: Braga's incredible comeback

The home side started brightest and Cucho Hernández curled narrowly wide but Braga didn't heed the warning. Just seconds later, Betis had their opener as Abde Ezzalzouli lifted a cross to the waiting Antony, who steered in a delicate, cushioned header off the far post.

Antony guides in a deft header to open the scoring for Real BetisUEFA via Getty Images

It wasn't long before they had a second as well. This time Pablo Fornals was the architect, playing a smart one-two with Antony before crossing for Ezzalzouli to tap in.

Just when it seemed like Betis might pull away for good, Braga hit back with their first shot on target, Pau Victor taking advantage of a defensive mix-up to score - and it was a clear turning point in the game.

Pau Victor starts the Braga comeback as he scores to make it 2-1Getty Images

Braga built on that goal by levelling soon after the restart as Vitor Carvalho headed in Ricardo Horta's free kick, but even better was to come for the visitors. Four minutes later, Ricardo Horta put them ahead with a penalty after Demir Ege Tıknaz was brought down by Sofyan Amrabat.

Betis were stunned and there was time for one more from the away side. Perhaps their best of the night, a soaring volley from Jean-Baptiste Gorby with 16 minutes put gloss on a remarkable victory which few saw coming with half an hour gone.

Simon Hart, reporting from La Cartuja de Sevilla

Braga have come back from the brink to reach their second Europa League semi-final on a stunning night in Seville. Betis were so dominant in the opening half-hour, running Braga ragged with their impressive pressing and quick counterattacks, yet Spaniard Carlos Vicens' men capitalised on their hosts' errors ruthlessly to achieve a quite astonishing turnaround.

Braga's comeback win means they are into their first Europa League semi-final in 15 yearsAFP via Getty Images

Reaction

Carlos Vicens, Braga coach: “When we talked about our chances at half-time, we said we had to stay and stick to the process, to believe in who we are, because who we are is what took us to these quarter-finals. And who we are was going to be, if we were going to go through, what was going to take us through. I think the players really believed it was possible with some adjustments at half-time.”

Manuel Pellegrini, Betis coach: “It’s very difficult to explain. We played the first 45 minutes at a high level. We scored two goals but had another two or three clear chances to continue scoring but the mistake for the first goal with the two centre-backs [colliding] left the ball inside the box for 2-1. After that, when we finished the first 45 minutes in the dressing room, we felt that goal too much.”

Pau Victor, Braga forward: “The team didn’t start as we had to. Betis were all over us and almost got a third, which would have been very difficult to come back from. But from the moment of that disallowed goal, we showed our [true] face and changed the dynamic.”

Key stats

• Braga have won seven of their last eight UEFA two‑legged ties when the first leg finished level.
• Braga have won their last eight UEFA two-legged ties and lost only two of their last 19 UEFA matches (W13 D4).
• Braga have played more matches in the UEFA Europa League era (from the league phase to the final) than any other club, with this fixture marking their 99th appearance in the competition proper.
• The match brought a first defeat for Real Betis in six games against Portuguese opposition in UEFA fixtures (W3 D2).
• Real Betis have scored two or more goals in their last nine UEFA home matches.
• This was the Real Betis' first home defeat in nine UEFA games (W6 D2), following victories in each of the previous four.

Line-ups

Real Betis: Pau López, Bellerín (Deossa 77), Bartra, Diego Llorente, Rodríguez (Valentin Gomez 77); Fornals (Bakambu 77), Amrabat, Fidalgo (Aitor Ruibal 66); Antony (Pablo Garcia 83), Cucho Hernández, Abde Ezzalzouli

Braga: Horníček; Victor Gómez, Vitor Carvalho (Paulo Oliveira 61), Lagerbielke, Arrey-Mbi (Gabriel Moscardo 20); Gorby, Demir Ege Tıknaz (Fran Navarro 61), Ricardo Horta; Gabri Martínez (Leonardo Lelo 80), Grillitsch, Pau Victor (João Moutinho 80)