Manuel Pellegrini believes the Europa League second tie between Manchester United and Real Betis is not over yet
Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini, while speaking ahead of the second leg UEFA Europa League Round of 16 clash between Manchester United and Real Betis (h/t Manchester Evening News) believes the tie is not over yet after he saw his team succumb to a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
United travel to Spain for the second leg fixture of the tie with a solid advantage on our hands with an impressive display by the team last week.
Goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst have given us a good foundation ahead of the second leg in Spain.
However, Pellegrini believes that anything is possible in a cup tie and it would be wrong to deem his team out of the fixture yet.
“Well, I believe really that in football you never know the score a game can finish.
We play there away. Always different to playing here at home with our fans behind our team, knowing from the beginning that we are playing against a big team and they have all the major options to qualify for the next round.
But we must try from the first minute, first to win the game, after that to try to score the goals that we need to qualify. And if not, to play a good game and win here at home.So, believing in my team, believing in our fans and we try, all together, to turn the score.”
It is true and as we have seen numerous times in European competitions, it does not make to reduce a deficit and comebacks are indeed possible.
Hence, we would have to be on our best since the first minute and in no way should take the game lightly because of the hefty advantage
The first goal will be the difference maker in this tie. If we score first, it would be tough for Betis to return to the game. However, allowing Betis to score an early goal can bring the game wide open, especially considering the home support behind the La Liga side.
Erik ten Hag like he has shown all season would not be taking the fixture lightly and is expected to put out a strong line-up in spite of the advantage at hand.
The manager, who has been so impressive since taking over at United, would be keen to add another trophy in his first season after getting his hands on the Carabao Cup in February.
Winning the UEFA Europa League also provides a direct path to UEFA Champions League football, which was one of the objectives heading into the season.
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A good one-hour display on Thursday could be enough to ensure the result goes in our favour and could also allow us to rest key players ahead of a crucial tie against Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
