Real Betis caressed the classification, but was left with the desire in the end. This Thursday, the team of Manuel Pellegrini and Claudio Bravo could not in regular time against Athletic (1-1) and was eliminated from the Copa del Rey after falling 1-4 on penalties.
The albiverde team won it until the end, but in the last play the lions achieved equality to take everything to extra time and the definition from 12 steps. A result that fell like a bucket of cold water for the engineer and his followers.
After the meeting, Pellegrini spoke with the media and made clear his sadness for having been on the road. “We leave with a feeling of frustration because we stood up for the whole game and we were 30 seconds from the semifinal“.
Betis tried, but could not against Athletic, staying with the desire to advance to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. Photo: Getty Images
The Chilean coach acknowledged that after disputing the result on the court, they were left without arguments. “Unfortunately they scored a goal for us near the end and in extra time we couldn’t. In the penalty shootout they were more successful“.
But Pellegrini will not give himself the time to regret what happened and immediately put the focus on La Liga. “We were excited about the performance we have had. Now we want to continue fighting to get closer to European competitions“.
Finally the engineer gave a boost to his people. “It’s a hard blow, but the squad is ready. We have to get up tomorrow. We compete as equals and with that we have to stay“.