The national coach spoke about the collapse of recent dates which left the Verdiblancos six points clear of the Champions League qualifying zone with three games to play.
The last few weeks haven’t been as Real Betis and Manuel Pellegrini expected. After winning the Copa del Rey title, the Sevilla side paid for their efforts and suffered a downturn which is also reflected in the table.
Now, with the 1-2 defeat against Barcelona and the victory of Atlético de Madrid against Real Madrid, the fight for fourth place and qualification for the Champions League is moving away. The Verdiblancos were 6 units behind the mattresses with no nine in dispute.
Despite this, Pellegrini’s record is positive, as he showed in the press conference ahead of his clash with Valencia on Tuesday.
“The team is doing very well, I think we had a good season, we fought in Europe, we were third in La Liga for many dates and we won the Copa del Rey . It’s been a good season in terms of results, but also in terms of what’s at stake. We wanted to fight until the end for the Champions League, but there were games like the last two at home against Elche and Barça in which I think we were better, but those results that we needed gave us escaped. “, analyzed the Chilean.
“The objectives now are to try to beat the previous season, where we were sixth with 61 points. Now we’re fifth at 58 with three games to go. Also, I think it’s important to end a season that has been so good by winning games and playing well, with the same good game we’ve played so far. “, he added”.
Regarding the fight for places in the Champions League, he assured that “we have in front of us teams with a much larger budget. Teams like Barcelona, who went from strength to strength in January, or Atlético have attackers worth over 100 million. I think it is a great merit to fight to the end for these places above. We would have liked to achieve this, of course, but in the end logic prevailed “, he acknowledged.
He also took the time to analyze his first two years at the helm of Betis. “There have been two seasons that I am very happy with. Above all, I am very proud of the echo that the players have had on the pitch after very bad sporting years and conflicts with supporters. yesHe has created a perfect communion with the fans, who are happy to win and for the game of the team . They asked us to go to Plaza Nueva and win the Cup and we did. Then Eintracht expelled us from the Europa League and then knocked out Barça and West Ham to reach the final. The season is very positive and now we also want to improve the previous one in La Liga “, he assured.
“We repeated in Europe two years in a row, which the club had never managed, and we were the ones who lasted the longest in all three competitions. I don’t want to mix illusion, frustration and reality. The greatest merit of this team has been to escape this reality and compete on the field against any rival. concludes Manuel Pellegrini.
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Source: Latercera
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