MADRID, March 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Betis coach, Manuel Pellegrini, assessed this Sunday’s draw against Real Madrid as “fair”, although he stressed that “the two best saves” were made by visiting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, while praising his team’s way of competing equipment.
“It’s hard to find a good game when it’s 0-0 but there were two teams that went for the opposite goal. We both defended quite well. Being a fair tie, the two best saves were made by Courtois. They also had a couple of dangerous shots. If You can’t win, you don’t have to lose. We were very applied,” he said at a press conference at the Benito Villamarín.
The Chilean coach highlighted the good work of his team, also in defense during various phases of the visiting siege, despite the significant losses of Canales and Fekir. “The team is always working to improve. There are always players missing and those who are there are the ones who have to take the game forward. This team has been competitive for a long time, they go out to win the games,” he said.
“It doesn’t seem like a harmless Madrid to me. We had the merit of not leaving them spaces. We did an important defensive job. Changing everything we do to beat Madrid is not going for me, within what we do, if we are able to overcome them, phenomenal, but we weren’t going to change our style,” he added.
In addition, Pellegrini celebrated his 100 games at Betis with a good taste in his mouth. “Very happy to have completed 100 games, I’m glad it was against Real Madrid. I liked the team’s personality and not giving up. When there are 42 points left it’s hard to think about what’s going to happen. I don’t think one can be thinking about the future but about the present”, he finished.