Manuel PellegriniTechnical PettisThis afternoon, he appeared in the press room at Benito Villamarne To explain how his team faces the match that will be played tomorrow in Bulgaria against Ludogorets, corresponding to the fifth day of the group stage. European Leaguewhere Verdiblancos needs a point to mathematically certify first place in group C And automatically reach the Round of 16 by avoiding the February play-off.
Betis will not come out for a draw
“I think if there is a way in which one can lose, it is precisely to go out for a tie. If you play on a tie-breaker from the start of the match, it is difficult to do well. As always we are going to try to win and as is the case Always if we can’t win it is better to draw than to lose. More so in this case mathematics gives us to be first. But it is not in our mentality to look for a draw because we will surely lose.”
How is William Carvalho?
“Outside the team is William Carvalho, who has a personal problem that prevents him from traveling, Sabali who still has symptoms of injury from the last match, Luiz Felipe who has not recovered from this match and surely will have even beyond the World Cup, saved from suspension, Unregistered Lauren and Montoya. The rest of the first team members are traveling including Kaik and Felix from the branch.”
What do you expect from Ludogorets?
“It is a rival that is fighting by itself to qualify for the next round and the only one who can compete with us for first place in the group. It is a rival we have already seen, here they played very well a match for us, they even beat Roma at home, so it will be difficult, it is a team with good players.”
How many minutes is she thinking?
“I think it was good for Nabil to play those minutes, it made him feel more confident with an injury already overcome. Let’s see tomorrow how many minutes we will give him. He is not ready yet to play 90, but he will definitely increase the number of minutes I played in the last game.
Save the tie and “free” the derby week
“Of course, I said that when we started, our goal was to qualify and it was already achieved. And if the odds were, maybe at that moment we didn’t think we would have 10 points out of 12, to be the first, we would have saved two games and there are very important competitors who came from my league European champions. Although last year we managed to get past Zenit, this is not always possible because they are more powerful teams. It will be very important to finish the season first everywhere.”
Could it be a “cheat” match?
“I hope and I don’t think so, this group has been thinking for some time to go out to win all the matches, play football. That we will win.” Ludogorets if we drop gear in our game. I have no doubt that the mentality of any of those who are going to play tomorrow is not the mindset.”
What can academy players who travel contribute to?
“They are two players who have already spent the season with us and we know them. They have a very good future within the club, the fact that there are so many players outside of this list allows them to carve out space for themselves. We will see tomorrow if they play or not, but if they are there, it is because they have The ability to do so and they did have merits that must be cited.”
Do you dream of winning the European League?
“No, I don’t dream of things that could happen in the future. I try to be realistic with things that could happen in the present. Our present is to beat Ludogorets, try to qualify first in the group and then when we get to the last 16, try to qualify.” “To show how we are doing in the league and in Europe with our performance and revenue, we have the ability to keep progressing. Then, how far we have progressed, we have always been optimistic and ambitious, but that ambition cannot make us lose sight of an obvious fact. The difference is with other teams. Whatever the case, as I said on Sunday against Atlético de Madrid, we always went to win. It was not to criticize Atletico Madrid because they are not a very winning team, I thought we were very close to it and it got away with it. But our mentality is always though sometimes we are up against very strong teams that you can’t always beat. “
Far trip and departure on Sunday
“Well, unfortunately, in quotes because between not playing the Europa League and playing it we all want to play, when you play away it’s very late, Friday morning you have to stay at night… a special flight because the airport is far from the city where we play the game, So we have a whole week of wear. I’ll go on a trip, come back, fly to San Sebastian on Saturday, and besides the game it’s Sunday at 9PM and we’ll be back on Saturday.Sunday at 3AM. It’s a week of travel, and it’s a competition that affects LaLiga, that’s why The reason it is so important to continue in the Europa League without leaving La Liga aside is because in those home and away matches one can be eliminated and everything he did backwards was useless and he found himself in the League in secondary positions. It was a great advantage, we only did it last year, to stay in Leading in the League and continuing in the Europa League, that’s why we go to do the exact same thing. We struggled all year to play it, and now we dedicate ourselves first to this, and then on Sunday through performances and personal changes, the team allowed us to be competitive.”
Fear of injury in marathon matches
“The possibility of players getting injured is much more because of the number of games, but we have a team of 25 players and I personally do not like absence as an excuse. We all know the importance of the players, those who are less or more beginners, but more than ever, with this squad, there is A complete commitment from everyone to the institution and the technical staff and we were able to overcome everything with more or less injuries, these are the ones who have to show their faces.”
World Cup evenly
“I appreciate it with the idea of getting as many points as possible in these four games. I give more importance, the important thing is to be in the time that allows us to try to fight for a place in Europe next season. Another very busy calendar where teams have to respond because Without a doubt, there will be many injured.”
Did they call you from Rome to ask you for a “service”?
“No, no one called me, Roma depend on themselves, they don’t need our game at all. If they win two qualifying games, I don’t think they will have a problem with our result.”
