after 21 years, the team from La Liga will play again in the Champions League!

Ashley Davis13/05/2026

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Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 07:37 / Updated Wednesday, 13 May 2026 07:38

Victorious with Elche, 2-1 in the 36th stage of La Liga, Real Betis made sure that it cannot lose the 5th place. The Andalusians thus ensured their return to the Champions League, 21 years after their last participation!

Finally, the Champions League anthem will be heard again in a Betis match. The Andalusian whites have qualified for the main interclub competition thanks to a combination of results on Tuesday night.

From 20:00, the only team that could have overtaken it for 5th place, Celta Vigo, lost at home to Levanteafter a nightmarish performance by the Romanian Ionuț Radu. An hour later, with the Celta-Levante score at 1-1, Betis entered the field looking to do their job.

And he did it in front of an Elche left with 10 men in the 49th minute, while the scoreboard read 1-1. In numerical superiority, Betis scored the winning goal through Pablo Fornals ('68).

Real Betis returns to the Champions League after 21 years!

Manuel Pellegrini's team remained in the lead until the end and thus secured the 5th place in the championship, one that sends directly to the Champions League next seasonin which Spain secured an additional place thanks to the European coefficient from the current season.

Betis last played in the Champions League in the 2005/2006 season. He fared respectably then in a group with Liverpool, Chelsea and Anderlecht, finishing 3rd with 7 points, which allowed him to continue in the UEFA Cup. There he came across FCSB in the round of 16 and was eliminated after 0-0 in Bucharest and 0-3 at home.

WE DID IT! pic.twitter.com/eYoTR02nV7

— Real Betis Balompié (@RealBetis_en) May 12, 2026

The celebration was appropriate. The players and technical staff sang and danced on the pitch, with fans still in the stands long after the final whistle.

Isco, ex-Real Madrid, appeared extremely emotional with this achievement. Betis filmed it and put it on social networks: “He won 5 Champions Leagues, but forget what it means to him.”