Braga, April 10 – Cucho Hernández's second-half penalty cancelled out an early Florian Grillitsch opener as Braga and Real Betis settled for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie.
The tie is tantalizingly poised ahead of the return in Seville next week after a tight, engaging match at Estádio Municipal de Braga ended all square.
Braga started strongly, with Diego Rodrigues delivering a low corner and Grillitsch applying a delightful improvised flicked finish at the near post to give his side the early lead.
Betis came close to equalising after 24 minutes, with centre-back Marc Bartra rising to meet Marc Roca's curling free-kick with a glancing header that hit the post and bounced away from danger.
Braga goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček then had to be alert ten minutes before half-time to tip away Cucho Hernández's close-range header as the visitors began to ramp up the pressure in search of a leveller.
Star winger Antony was introduced as a half-time substitute to try to inject some pace and trickery for the visitors, but it was Braga who had the first meaningful effort of the second period, with Grillitsch forcing a good save from Pau López.
However, Betis were handed a lifeline on the hour when Jean-Baptiste Gorby fouled Abde Ezzalzouli in the box, and Cucho Hernández emphatically dispatched his penalty into the left-hand corner to draw his side level.
The second leg takes place in Seville on April 16. The winners of the tie advance to the semi-finals, where they will meet either Freiburg or Celta; the first leg is at home on April 30 before the return a week later. The final takes place at Istanbul's Besiktas Park on May 20.
