Spanish journalists have no doubt that Betis will reach the main round of the Conference League. They call the match with Kryvbas an easy one for the Seville club, which did not even play at 100%. The local media are convinced that Betis could have scored many more goals, but decided to save their energy for the upcoming matches. They criticized Kryvbas's poor performance, calling the Ukrainian club's level catastrophically low even at the level of Betis, which did not play its best match and did not really want to spend energy on this game.
"Betis did a great job," the Diario de Sevilla journalist is already thinking about the future and notes that the return leg with Kryvbas is now turning into a mere formality.
"The Green and Whites were significantly superior to Ukrainian side Kryvbas in the first match of the Conference League playoffs, although they limited themselves to just one goal in each half. But even this was enough to make their presence in the main round of the Conference League almost certain.
In that first half, Betis didn't look like a team that wanted to win badly, either after Fekir's opportunity or Avila's goal. It seemed that the Spaniards were rather just waiting for the Ukrainians to make mistakes. The second half turned out to be more comfortable for Betis, especially after Rodri's effective start, which doubled the lead. It was close to one of those summer test matches when the stronger club secured a comfortable lead, and the weaker opponent already realized that they could not improve anything.
Football is still football, the late Vujadin Boskov said, but the distance between this Betis and Kryvbas is simply astronomical. What does it mean? "The Green and Whites won so easily that it's even a little obscene. Now they should find themselves in the updated main stage that UEFA has developed for the Conference League. This happened because Pellegrino's team, as it should be, took its job seriously and turned the meeting at the Benito Villamarin Stadium into a formality."
"Betis is moving in the right direction," the Mundo Deportivo journalist praises the Spanish club and notes that after such a simple and confident victory, no one doubts who will advance to the main round of the Conference League.
"After the first match, Betis can actually stop thinking about the playoffs for the Conference League after beating Ukrainian side Kryvbas 2-0 in the first leg at the Košice Arena in Slovakia. A result that allows them to prepare for the return leg next Thursday at the Benito Villamarina with confidence. This is especially important because this match will take place three days before the visit to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"Betis played two even halves of the game. Avila opened the scoring in the first half, and Rodri doubled the lead in the second half with a wonderful goal. Manuel Pellegrini renewed Betis' starting lineup and made seven substitutions compared to the team that played last Thursday against Girona - only Rui Silva, Llorente, Perrault and Fekir came out. And Ukrainian coach Yuriy Vernydub, who has a more limited squad, made only one substitution compared to the team that won the Ukrainian Premier League on Sunday.
"The Green and Whites immediately seized the initiative in the game and pinned the Ukrainians back for a long time, and Nabil Fekir soon missed a great chance in the seventh minute after a good combination on the right flank. But a few minutes later, Avila put Betis ahead.
There were practically no problems at Rui Silva's goal throughout the match, the central pair of defenders acted reliably today. Rodri's good work in the attack also helped him score a goal. After the score changed to 2-0, and with half an hour left to play, Manuel Pellegrini began to make numerous changes, already thinking about next Sunday's match against Alaves, where there will be many rotations in the team that has actually secured its place in the main stage of the Conference League."
"Without much fanfare," the journalist of the Relevo website notes the confident play of Betis, who calmly controlled the match, but still did not want to waste energy on an opponent who was completely helpless against the Spanish club. And all this was happening against the backdrop of a solid rotation from the Betis coach, who let his substitutes play.
"Betis was and still is the clear favorite in this match, but in football, especially in European competitions, you never know what to expect from your opponent. Fortunately, Betis did exactly what they were supposed to do - win. The team from Seville did not waste a lot of energy on an opponent who did not pose a threat to them. Without any frills, Pellegrini's team beat Kryvbas with a confident performance. A quick goal helped the Spaniards to clear all the questions and show the Ukrainians who was the favorite in this match. The return leg is still to come, but the truth is that the 2-0 score in the first leg gives Betis a comfortable lead.
In short, Betis played a positive match both offensively and defensively, but did not seek to overwhelm the opponent. The game was so easy that even the 2-0 score looks like a verdict for Kryvbas. And Pellegrini's men can already think about the main stage of the Conference League."
Orest Petruskiv