Niko Kovač had not planned to turn to Konstantinos Karetsas so early.
Borussia Dortmund were still searching for a breakthrough against Real Betis when Serhou Guirassy was forced off injured. It was the 34th minute, the score was 0–0, and Dortmund had just lost one of their most important goalscorers.
Kovač sent on Karetsas.
The 18-year-old was entering a Champions League match that could still go either way. Betis had already threatened, Dortmund had missed several opportunities, and replacing Guirassy meant changing how the attack worked.
Karetsas could not simply offer the same physical presence or penalty-area movement as the Senegalese striker. Instead, he would have to find ways to connect with the players around him, particularly Fábio Silva.
By the final whistle, Dortmund had won 2–1 and Karetsas had scored the decisive goal. He was also named UEFA’s Player of the Match.
It was an excellent night for the teenager. But the reason Kovač should remember his performance goes beyond the winning shot.
Dortmund needed a different route to goal
The home side had created chances before Guirassy’s injury.
Julian Ryerson was finding room on the right to deliver crosses. Guirassy went close to reaching one of them and later shot wide after Jobe Bellingham returned the ball from the byline.
Daniel Svensson also threatened, only for Álvaro Vallés to deny him.
Betis, meanwhile, had shown they could cause problems themselves. Antony thought he had opened the scoring in the 14th minute, but his goal was ruled out for offside.
It was the sort of match where Dortmund needed to make their opportunities count.
Then Guirassy collided with the goalpost during an attacking move. He could not continue, leaving Kovač with an unexpected decision.
Karetsas replaced him in the 34th minute.
Dortmund still had other attackers available, including Maximilian Beier and Ethan Nwaneri. Kovač’s choice gave the team a player who could receive possession around the attacking midfield areas and help move the ball towards the forwards.
The arrangement needed time to settle. Dortmund reached half-time without a goal.
Five minutes after the restart, however, Karetsas was involved in the move that finally broke Betis down.
His first important contribution wasn’t an assist
The opening goal began with Dortmund keeping possession in the opposition half.
Felix Nmecha helped sustain the move before the ball reached Karetsas. A Betis defender tried to impede him, but the youngster stayed involved and found Ryerson on the right.
Ryerson delivered a low cross towards Bellingham, whose close-range attempt brought an excellent save from Vallés.
Silva was first to the rebound.
Dortmund led 1–0 in the 49th minute.
The goal belonged to Silva, and Karetsas was not credited with the direct assist. His pass had come earlier, before Ryerson’s delivery and Bellingham’s saved attempt.
That earlier contribution was still important.
Karetsas had received the ball under pressure and kept the attack moving towards an area where Dortmund could create a chance. He had helped connect the midfield to the right flank without allowing the move to break down.
Two minutes later, he showed another side of his game, testing Vallés with a shot of his own.
This was useful for Dortmund because the team had lost Guirassy’s presence up front. Karetsas offered a different way of reaching dangerous areas: carrying the ball, finding teammates and arriving in positions to shoot.
He was not responsible for everything Dortmund created. Ryerson continued to supply the width, while Bellingham and Silva provided the movement and finishing threat around the box.
But the substitute had become an active part of the attack rather than a player merely filling an empty position.
Silva found him when Dortmund needed another goal
Dortmund’s lead lasted less than 20 minutes.
In the 67th minute, Waldemar Anton lost possession as the home side tried to play forward. Abde Ezzalzouli took advantage and supplied Aitor Ruibal, who finished to make it 1–1.
Dortmund had to find another goal.
Bellingham nearly provided it when he met another Ryerson cross, but Vallés produced a sharp reaction save.
Then, in the 72nd minute, Silva received the ball away from goal.
He turned and found Karetsas near the edge of the penalty area.
The teenager moved the ball onto his left foot and shot low from approximately 17 metres. His effort passed between a defender’s legs and beat Vallés at the near post.
Dortmund were back in front.
It was Karetsas’ first Champions League goal, and it secured a 2–1 victory. At 18 years, 11 months and 16 days, he became Dortmund’s fifth-youngest scorer in the competition.
The finish was impressive, even if Vallés might have dealt with the shot better after making several difficult saves earlier.
For Kovač, there was another encouraging detail. Silva had scored Dortmund’s first goal and assisted the second.
The striker and his young teammate had helped each other make an unfamiliar attacking arrangement work.
Kovač recognised that afterwards, praising Karetsas’ attacking energy and his understanding with Silva.
It was particularly interesting because this was not the first time the pair had delivered a meaningful result together.
Four days earlier, they had helped Dortmund against Bayern
On 31 October, Dortmund were trailing Bayern Munich 2–1 when Karetsas entered the match in the 67th minute.
With the game nearing its end, Silva scored Dortmund’s equaliser in the 89th minute. Karetsas supplied the assist.
Dortmund escaped Munich with a 2–2 draw.
Four days later, the direction of the final pass was reversed. This time Silva supplied Karetsas, who finished the winner against Betis.
The two goals developed in different ways. Against Bayern, the chance came after a corner situation that the home side failed to clear. Against Betis, Silva received the ball and found Karetsas near the penalty area.
They do not yet amount to evidence of a fully developed partnership.
Still, two important contributions in four days give Kovač something concrete to consider. If he wants an attack built around more movement and combination play, he now has recent examples of Karetsas and Silva helping each other produce goals.
There is also a wider story to Karetsas’ progress.
He had already started a Champions League match away to Bodø/Glimt on 14 October, only to be replaced after 60 minutes as Dortmund went on to lose 1–0.
He then suffered an ankle injury against Union Berlin and missed subsequent action before returning to the squad for the Bayern fixture.
So the Betis winner was not his first experience of serious European responsibility, nor was his development an uninterrupted run of success.
He had experienced a difficult start, an injury setback and a return to competitive football. His contributions against Bayern and Betis are the strongest recent reasons for Kovač to keep using him.
The opportunity Karetsas has earned
The injury to Guirassy is the obvious qualification.
Karetsas came on because Dortmund were forced to change their attack. The performance does not establish that he would have started ahead of Guirassy, Beier or Dortmund’s other available forwards.
Nor does one winning goal settle where Karetsas belongs in Kovač’s preferred formation.
What it does establish is that Dortmund can call on him for more than a hopeful late cameo.
Against Betis, he entered with the match level, helped connect the move for the first goal, threatened the goalkeeper himself and finished the winner after the visitors had equalised.
Together with his contribution against Bayern, that gives Kovač a genuine attacking option to consider rather than merely a promising young player to develop.
Dortmund’s next fixtures, against Elversberg in the Bundesliga and Arsenal in the Champions League, will provide further chances to assess how the manager uses his squad.
Guirassy’s recovery will also affect those decisions. His precise return date should depend on the club’s medical assessment, not speculation following his early substitution.
When Dortmund have their main attacking players available, the important detail will be whether Kovač still chooses Karetsas for meaningful minutes, particularly when the score remains close.
If he does, the teenager’s role will be growing beyond an emergency substitute. If his opportunities return to occasional appearances when others are unavailable, his place in the hierarchy will remain unsettled.
Kovač did not choose to lose Guirassy in the 34th minute.
But the replacement he made showed him another way Dortmund could attack.
Karetsas earned the winning goal. More importantly, he gave his manager a reason to consider using him again.
Sources
- Borussia Dortmund — BVB Earns Hard-Fought Victory Over Betis
- Borussia Dortmund — Postgame Reactions
- Borussia Dortmund — Karetsas Leapfrogs Lars Ricken
- Borussia Dortmund — Bayern 2–2 Dortmund
- Borussia Dortmund — Defeat at Bodø/Glimt
- Borussia Dortmund — Karetsas’ Ankle Injury
- UEFA — Dortmund Champions League Fixtures