Vitoria’s supporters produced a cauldron of noises ahead of kick-off in an attempt to lift their players for a crucial European clash.
As it proved, the home faithful were quickly stunned into silence when Cedric Bakambu slotted the ball through Bruno Varela’s legs after he had rolled the challenge of Toni Borevkovic.
Betis would have been far from comfortable despite netting an early goal, especially after they gave up the lead on two occasions in last week’s 2-2 draw in Spain.
With that in mind, the travelling faithful would have breathed a sigh of relief when Bakambu doubled the advantage in the 20th minute, heading home from Aitor Ruibal’s clipped pass to round off a slick attacking move.
Trailing by two at the break, Vitoria made a purposeful start to the second period, forcing Betis to weather a period of pressure at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques.
However, just as the hosts were building up a head of steam, the visitors launched an incisive counter-attack to put the tie to bed courtesy of Antony’s fourth goal since joining the club in January.
The Manchester United loanee latched onto Isco’s intelligent through ball, before driving into the box to drill the ball past Varela at the near post.
Antony then helped apply the finishing touches to a memorable away trip, bursting away from Mikel Villanueva before teeing up Isco for a simple finish to pile the misery on Vitoria in their first home defeat since September.
Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini’s charges will move on to a quarter-final clash against Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Cedric Bakambu (Real Betis)