Betis adds weeks under a minimized version that takes it away from the Champions League positions. His defeat against Atlético de Madrid relegated him to fifth place in the league after another display of defensive fragility in Heliopolis. The errors behind condemned the team against a direct rival and now they have six consecutive duels conceding goals in the League championship. A whole deficit that complicates the hunt for a place of privilege to dispute the maximum continental competition next season. For now, Manuel Pellegrini is clear: “Being one point below doesn’t change anything. There are many games left to play.”
But the sensations are not ideal at Betis. The defensive suffering has been on the scene for several days The Verdiblanco team no longer finds the punch that they showed for much of the season. Many focuses are directed at the defensive plot: against Atlético Víctor Ruiz he never managed to control the spaces behind him and the first goals of Simeone’s team came from his side without being successful. The rotations of the Chilean coach are still on the scene and there are many questions about which pieces are more suitable when it comes to settling matches like yesterday’s. Edgar, their fittest central defender, was on the bench and points to the eleven in the match against Eintracht Frankfurt next Wednesday.
LaLiga Santander
*Data updated as of March 7, 2022
The defense debate is also present in the goal, although Claudio Bravo did reflect a good level against Atlético avoiding a major win. The unknown appears about the future of a team that needs to recover its best version of the game to aspire to the fight for the first four places in the League and even to prevent Villarreal and Real Sociedad from taking a place in Europe. Pellegrini tries to find a reliability plan that solves the many defensive shortcomings that have conditioned his team in recent weeks.