Manuel Pellegrini has advanced this Wednesday, in the press conference just before carrying out the official training at the ‘Polish Army’ stadium in Warsaw, where this Thursday they will face Legia in the first match of the league phase of the Conference, that there will be quite a few “new faces” in the starting eleven that are presented, since the number of games scheduled forces “to rotate to avoid more injuries.” For this reason, since “he was already contracted” he left Lo Celso in Seville.
“We already know what it costs to get to play in Europe and how difficult it is, as Dinamo Zagreb showed us last year in this same competition, which we face with great enthusiasm, not thinking that we are going to win it but thinking about qualifying in the group stage. That is our goal,” Pellegrini began by saying this Wednesday.
Regarding whether the absence of Lo Celso in the squad can influence the team’s performance, he commented: “If we only depend on one player, the chances of qualifying are very slim, the team is used to making permanent rotations because it is the only one.” formula of having a competitive pleasure when you have to play three competitions. From Thursday to Sunday it is very difficult to recover and in that aspect we have always been able to play in Europe, where we have been able to advance more, but we have always remained current in the Spanish league without losing points.”
Betis starts as one of the favorites to win the Conference, but Pellegrini believes that this condition must be earned on the field: “It would be a very big mistake to think that we can be finalists of the Conference when we have not first qualified in the group stage . We have to go in stages, try to qualify in the group stage, which is the first thing, and given that step in round-trip matches we will try to get as high as possible, as we have always tried. Once we were eliminated by Eintracht, who were the champions, then by Manchester United… but without leaving the League aside, we always try to go as far as possible in Europe and I hope that in this Conference we can overcome the round of 16, which has been the hurdle that “They have put us in the previous seasons.”
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Pellegrini will make rotations yes or yes: “Whether there is a derby around the corner or not, even if we played with the bottom of LaLiga, I would do exactly the same in tomorrow’s game, with rotations, as we always do. We are always complaining about the number of injuries there are, especially among teams that have to play three competitions, in Europe, the League and the Copa del Rey, and if you do not have a balanced squad, where you can rotate, it is very difficult for the players do not get injured and be able to aspire to something. Tomorrow, of course, we will see new names and we will see which starting eleven is going to start, but those who remain on the bench are also important to play 15, 20 or 30 minutes in search of a good result.”
The Real Betis coach is clear that at the moment the priority is LaLiga, because “the points that go away do not come back”, while the objective in the Conference is to qualify as best as possible in this first phase: “Not qualifying would already be bad .Eighth is not the same as ninth… However, in LaLiga, if we don’t win points, they no longer recover. If you focus on Europe, you might as well look at LaLiga and you are down, even in relegation positions. For example, we see ourselves in the quarterfinals or semifinals, we could consider giving priority to the Conference. But LaLiga will always have priority until then, as in the Cup, we will try to go as far as possible.
Lo Celso’s absence comes after consensus with the club’s doctors: “First, it must be clarified that all the lists are made in consensus with the medical staff. We have to see how the players recover from their efforts. We started giving him 30 minutes, then more… He was already feeling overloaded and was risking injury, so we thought it was best not to bring him. Every game we study not only with him, but with the rest, how they are, how they have recovered, who is most tired… to make an eleven that is as competitive as possible.”
In Warsaw, Legia, the most successful team in Poland – a country that Pellegrini was visiting on vacation last June – awaits: “I’m waiting for the big club in Poland. And every big team at home goes out to win and play. I don’t think that It was a coincidence that we beat Aston Villa. It will be a complicated match against a great rival. We will have to show why we aim to go higher in Europe. In June I was lucky enough to go sightseeing throughout the country, which is beautiful and me. It impressed a lot, with its churches and its towns. I also visited the venue of the Conference final (Wroclaw), as for our rival, they have three strong center backs, midfielders with good technique… They will have some injuries, like us, but. “I don’t think it’s based on just one player, because it’s a big team that will go out and look for the game like Betis.”