Manuel Pellegrini, technician of the Betis, has appeared this noon in the press room of the Luis del Sol Sports City, after the training session of their players, to analyze how the Verdiblanco team faces the first sevillian derby of the season, corresponding to matchday 13 of LaLiga Santander on First division that will dispute tomorrow in front of Seville from 9:00 p.m. on the Benito Villamarin.
How is the team after the last two defeats?
“The team is well physically and mentally, in both aspects. It is true that we come from a couple of defeats with unexpected scores, against Atlético de Madrid I think it was not the difference either, and against Bayer Leverkusen, considering that both teams played better than us, they deserved to win by a couple of goals. But I think that the very fact of trying to draw made us open up more than necessary and we received the last two goals at the end. A superior team and we lost two games against rivals at their own home, major rivals. “
Two changes at halftime in the last games
“By analyzing a series of aspects of the matches, one makes the changes at the time it deems appropriate. Analyzing a match that has already ended has no importance, winning or losing we leave the match behind, we get the necessary experience and more important than a certain The match is the application of the team. The team is in both competitions in a situation in which we would have liked to be at the beginning of the season, depending exclusively on us to qualify in Europe and in LaLiga three points behind those who are ahead “.
We depend on us to qualify in Europe and in LaLiga we are three points behind the top
Winning a derby, your pending task?
“Well, of course we know that winning the derby is the most important thing for Betis fans, and it is what we want to do. But it is more important to have a general achievement than a one-off match, without ignoring how important it is to defeat Sevilla In that aspect, I do not know if it is an outstanding debt, but we all want to do it, although I always continue to lean towards the collective achievement of a season “.
First Sevillian derby for the Chilean with an audience in the stands
“It is very important that the stadium is full because the team feels very supported by its audience. I have been in Spain for eleven years and although I have not been here directing a derby, I know exactly what the Betis game against Seville means. Hopefully we can give it a try. a great joy to our people and to maintain a performance in a season that for now has been above expectations. Perhaps many times one generating so much enthusiasm then frustration increases, but we are very aware of what we have done and the mistakes we have committed and we will continue to do what we believe is best for the team. “
It is very important that the stadium is full because the team feels very supported by its audience
What opinion does Sevilla deserve?
“We cannot ignore Sevilla’s potential, or Sevilla’s budget, or what they have done in recent years. It is a team that has won the Europa League several times, which has been permanently involved in the Champions League in recent years, who have a high budget and can afford to bring in important players. But last year the two games that we played with them had quite unfair results. We wasted a penalty in one game and we were far superior in the other one that we lost. But that It must be ratified with a result against a powerful team, one of the strongest in Spain. “
Who takes the role of favorite?
“I do not know who is the favorite, I have already said that they are two institutions with different economic reality, which represent an important mass of fans in Seville. They are even in the sporting part and the rest are left out when the 90 minutes start. We hope to do a good performance at home and win the game. It’s very easy to take on the role of underdog so as not to have responsibility, but we play at home and we’re going to try to win like we do in every game. “
We cannot ignore the potential of Sevilla, nor its budget, nor what it has done in recent years
The importance of the first minutes of the game
“I had a coach who always told me that the first 95 minutes are the important ones. You don’t really know what they are, you can play 15 minutes well and the rest a disaster. I don’t think a specific part matters but the personality of the team. , the conviction of what one does and, as I always say, the individual performance of the players “.
Less rest for Betis before the derby
“It does not seem unfair to me because there was no other alternative, the Europa League is played on Thursdays and next week there is a FIFA date so it cannot be played on Monday. Sevilla comes with two more days off because the competition is like that, the Europa League is a competition that wears a lot, we arrive in Spain on Friday morning in away matches. But we are not thinking about that nor do we think we are harmed in that regard, that is why we have occupied a large part of the squad to reach all the competitions “.
In the last game Fekir received four fouls in the first five minutes, but will continue to play his game
Fekir, one of the players who receive the most fouls
“That’s right, in the last game he reflected a bit, in the first five minutes he received four fouls. He is a player who is permanently under the mark of one or two players. Unfortunately he reacted badly in the last game, but he will continue with his game within the characteristics he has “.
Does it influence that both teams come from European defeats?
“Personally, I think that all the previous games have nothing to do with the next game. One can come from very bad streaks and play a great game or have a lot of security in other games and have a bad game. Much more with the anxiety that a game produces. derby. It’s important not to make mistakes due to excessive anxiety. I don’t think that the previous games affect either of us. “
Last derby at home for Joaquín?
“I have not spoken with Joaquín in a special way thinking if it is his last derby at home or not. It is a derby of Betis and Sevilla, and Joaquín is one of the squad, I do not think his mind is even thinking about that but about how momentous the game is. “
