Manuel Pellegrini highlighted the great work of their players throughout the season, as they came from a very bad campaign – the previous one they were 15th – and they have managed to reverse the situation after overcoming a crisis at the end of November, when they lost seven games out of nine: “ A feeling of joy remains. The group has deserved it after a very bad year in which it was highly questioned. We had a bad streak, but since December there was a reaction from everyone, there was more competitive spirit, fighting for every ball. That allowed us to fight with institutions that had eight and ten points, more powerful economically. It is to raise a statue to this group, who fought with great credibility. We have added two defeats in 25 games, two games in which we deserved more ”, declared the Chilean coach after the victory in Bullets and the classification of Real Betis for the Europa League.
“When I came I spoke with the dressing room and gave them my point of view. I always like to compete to win. Before the great ones we deserve more. The campaign has been brilliant and that has allowed us to reach Europe. We have had ambition from day one. We set ourselves an unrealistic goal, due to the economic situation, the team always thought the same as a big team. The achievement was not within the objectives of the club, but we have achieved it. Of course we are going to celebrate. On Monday we will meet to think about the next season, which will be much more difficult. You will have to do good planning to compete in all competitions. In two very difficult competitions. We are going to try to strengthen the team within a reality. Now comes a long vacation that everyone deserves, ”said Pellegrini.
“There is enormous joy in the dressing room. Achievement is very important. Also by how the objective has been achieved. The spirit is reflected in the costumes. Seventh would have been a great season that nobody expected, but you didn't have to settle. It is an achievement that we dedicate to all Betis. We all know what this achievement means for the future of the institution. It has been an exceptional season ”, summed up the Chilean.
Regarding the match against Celta, which got very complicated with the 0-2 at the beginning of the second half, he argued that “the first half was very even, it was a balanced game. We knew we could hurt them. Leaving from the bank we look for variants. It wasn't easy, but we knew we could hurt them on defense ”.