“Now we are being scored against with very few chances. We have recovered our functioning and hopefully we can maintain this line.”
Sevilla/Manuel Pellegrini expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance, which once again demonstrated the intensity, desire, and pride on the pitch that the fans demanded, managing to secure a draw against league leaders Barcelona. However, the Chilean coach admitted it left him with a “bittersweet” feeling.
“I am very happy with the team’s performance, as we sought the Barcelona goal with intensity from the start. We owed the fans a good performance, and our game got them involved from the beginning,” Pellegrini explained. Despite the late equalizer, he finished with mixed emotions: “Against a rival like Barcelona, one should be happy with the draw, but I feel a bitterness because we had clear goal-scoring chances that we didn’t convert. I don’t see it as a good point, but rather as a good team performance. Even though it was Barcelona, if you have four or five clear chances that the opponent did not get, you cannot be satisfied,” the Chilean assured, adding: “If you play like that against Barcelona, you must strive for this version in every match.”
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The Real Betis coach highlighted the “intensity” with which his side approached the match, noting that the team has recaptured the optimal functioning lost since the last break. “We focused a lot on the game against Atlético de Madrid, but early in the season, we had good performances where we deserved more with clear chances like against Mallorca or Alavés, and we let points slip away while playing well. Performances like this force us to play every match with this intensity. We must be careful, as we have nine matches in a month. On Thursday in the Conference, we will not have Isco, Lo Celso, Marc Roca, Johnny, Iker Losada, or Fornals, and on Sunday, again against Villarreal. The goal is to stay alive in all competitions by January and accumulate as many league points as possible in the first half of the season,” the Engineer pointed out, adding: “After the last international break, we experienced a dip in our football. These are moments that occur during the season, but we always respond in the league. It’s not easy to play in three competitions, but I will continue to place the same trust in the squad.”
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Pellegrini once again lamented the lack of finishing – “a trend this season” – but said “the team’s functioning is improving.” “Now we are conceding goals with very few chances. We have recovered our functioning and hopefully, we can maintain this line,” added the Heliópolis coach, aware that “the team was not functioning as we wanted.” “But it has been a specific period for various reasons. With Johnny and Fornals, we won four matches and drew three, and they got injured together. Due to different circumstances, we had to make changes, but this has always been the same Betis from recent years. This result will be important for gaining confidence, much like the match on Wednesday. Whether criticized or not, the cup match also gave confidence to a squad with many absentees.”
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Additionally, the coach addressed the milestone of reaching 500 matches in La Liga: “These are 500 matches in such a difficult competition as La Liga and 1,550 throughout my career. It’s not easy and I am proud to have achieved it while managing important clubs. There’s some merit here as I am the only foreigner to reach this figure in Spain. But the excitement and demands are not in the statistics, but in the next match, and that’s why I try to stay alive in the profession,” he said.
Pellegrini spoke about Isco’s return, “a very important player” for the dressing room. “For Isco, these last weeks of work have been vital for him to feel that he has overcome his injury. It will take time for him to regain his best form, and the better he feels, the more intensely he can train to get more minutes,” he emphasized.
Moreover, Pellegrini explained that “Mateo finished with a muscle strain, as did Jesús Rodríguez with Sant Andreu, because they felt the change in intensity.” “He is a player who contributes in both directions and met the expectations we had,” affirmed the coach, who also addressed the last-minute absence of Rui Silva: “He came in with minor shoulder discomfort and felt more pain during warm-up and we didn’t want to take risks. We opted for Fran Vieites because Adrián is registered for the Conference and Fran is not, and if something happened to Adrián, we would be left without goalkeepers in Europe.”
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