“I knew it would be very difficult against a Champions team”

The Chilean Manuel Pellegrinicoach of Betis, this Thursday was “very happy” to classify the Verdiblancos for the round of 16 of the Champions League, an achievement that “I knew would be very difficult against a Champions team” like the Zenit de San Petersburgo.

Pilgrims “was clear” that the Russians “would come for the match”, so “he did not want to play with the result of the first leg in his head”, but admitted that his team was “unconsciously more speculative”, although he denied that the Zenit “have had very clear options” to score because “they have had more of the ball, but without creating chances”.

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Of course, the Santiago coach recognized that “in the end, there were two clear plays, one that annulled the VAR and another that went over the crossbar”, which should not serve to “criticize the defense” because he considers that his defense has “worked very well, just like against Mallorca on Sunday”.

Pellegrini assured that before Zenit’s disallowed goal in the 90th minute, there was “a very clear foul because it prevented Guido (Rodríguez) from jumping”, although he considers that “if they scored the goal”, Betis had “a well-structured team to play overtime”.

The Verdiblanco coach congratulated himself on the “incredible behavior of the fans”, since “they haven’t stopped cheering for a second” demonstrating the existence of “a great communion based on a way of playing”.