As soon as the match ended in which his team won 1-0 against HJK Helsinkithus certifying their qualification for the playoffs of the Conference League, Manuel Pellegrinitechnician Betismade an assessment of the performance of the Verdiblancos in the league phase of the continental tournament. And the Chilean did not want to forget the stressful schedule or the numerous absences he has been accumulating in recent months.
Thus, the note of Engineer to his footballers was “more than approved because he cannot separate himself from the Liga and of the Copa With the number of injuries we have had, eight or nine players, counting on people from the reserve team, playing in three competitions and other teams only have one.” In summary, to Pellegrinithe game and the results of his team in the first half of the course, which is about to be reached, leave him “broadly satisfied.”
The Betic coach has never been overly concerned about the rivals who may cross his path in the following crossings. What I did want is for the second leg, at least in the February playoffs, since the Betis arrived with no real options to fight for the first eight places on the final day, it would be held in the Benito Villamarin to have the field factor in case a comeback is needed. And his team achieved that with a pyrrhic 1-0 that left them in 15th place in the table.
The first or the second if it reaches the round of 16
One more goal would have been enough to fall to the bottom of the table in the qualifying rounds and avoid the first two places, Chelsea y Vitoria de Guimaraeswhich have been the strongest teams in this first stage of the competition, at least until the semifinals. But deep down, you never know what is best. It seems clear that avoiding a tie with the Londoners is always the most sensible thing to do, but the Portuguese, despite their good start to the tournament, do not present themselves as an unbeatable rival for a Betis con Lo Celsus, Isco, Fornals, Cardoso and company.
The first thing for the green and white will be to overcome the February playoff round against the Gent of Belgium or the Copenhagen of Denmark. They already faced the second in this league phase, with a draw at home, and adds the difficulty of having to play the first leg in a scenario with very low temperatures, in the middle of winter. Both teams, in any case, seem inferior to those of Pellegrini in a two-legged tie.
From there, the draw will determine whether the ‘coconut’ of the Chelsea It is presented as a major challenge for Betis or if, on the contrary, all face to face with the Vitoria de Guimaraeswhich the Verdiblancos already faced in the group stage of the Europa League of the 2013-14 season, with Pepe Mel on the bench, winning 1-0 in the Benito Villamarin and 0-1 with a goal Chuli in the extension of the second half in the match played in the D. Afonso Henriques Stadium.
In this second case, if the Betis surpasses its playoff round and it is the Portuguese who cross its path, they would avoid facing the powerful Chelsea until a hypothetical final. For this reason, and because the good playing time of both teams in this first phase of the tournament does not mean that they will reach February equally well, to Pellegrini The important thing was to get through the round and what happens later will be seen.
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