Transcendental days: what are the challenges for Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis for the rest of the season

Real Betis Experience the important days of this end of season. After a march to forget, in which they chained four consecutive defeats in La Liga, Manuel Pellegrini’s team moved away from the fight for the top of the standings, which also ruined the option of fighting for a place for the next Champions League. However, There are important goals that the Albiverdes are tasked to achieve in the few remaining matches, such as participating in other UEFA European competitions, although there is also the risk of returning empty-handed .

Until the start of the 35th day, the Sevillians occupy seventh place in the tournament, with 52 points. The most important goal they can aspire to is to reach the Europa League, a competition for which the fifth and sixth teams in La Liga qualify, which today are Athletic and Real Sociedad. , the latter only two points more than that of Pellegrini. Those of San Sebastián are direct rivals.

The other international tournament is the Conference League (the third in order of importance on the old continent) which they currently access due to the fact that the seventh in the Spanish League has a guaranteed place.

But there is also the possibility of ending up with nothing. Following in the footsteps of Pellegrini and company, in the ranking is Valencia, with 47 units, five less than Betis. This last scenario would be a total failure for the objectives set at the start of the season.

Of course, not only is the sporting objective important at the end of the season, but There is also the economic aspect. If they manage to advance to the group stage of the Europa League, it would net the club an income of $4.65 million. To this must be added the 485 thousand American dollars that UEFA pays per match won and the 162 thousand for a draw. For their part, if they go to the Conference League, the figure drops, but remains juicy: 3.42 million dollars for being in the groups, 431 thousand for the victory and 143 thousand for the equalizer.

Benito Villamarín’s team still has four days to play in La Liga. The first two seem accessible: this one Sunday May 12 at home against inferior team Almería And Thursday 16 visiting Las Palma s. However, the last two dates will be much more complex: in the penultimate match they will host Real Sociedad in a match with their direct rival for the Europa League, and They close it all by visiting Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Likewise, whatever happens, Pellegrini’s continuity is not called into question. A year ago, the Chilean renewed his contract until June 2026. and the institution was satisfied.

The one whose permanence is not assured is Claudio Bravo. The La Roja captain ends his contract with the team in a few weeks and his future is unknown. This is what Pellegrini himself said this Friday at a press conference: “He is a player who has brought us a lot. We will see at the end of the season what happens, he will have made his decision, but he still brings us a lot within the team on a daily basis.

What they are sure of is that he will not be part of the institution’s staff, as some rumors in Spain report: “Claudio is not going to join the coaching team, because he does not want it and it is not his path for the future” .

“I think Claudio will continue to play, I don’t know if here or elsewhere, but I think he will continue because he still has the chance to play more. In the future, he will follow his coaching courses, but he has no connection with the Betis coaching staff at the moment. added the coach.