Pepe Mel was bitter in seeing Real Betis lose to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, assessing that their best player had been goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Early goals from Radamel Falcao and Filipe Luis have handed the capital club an advantage going into the second leg of this quarter-final, much to the Betis Coach’s dismay.
“The result is not fair. We had enough chances to score. The summary is that Atletico had three chances to score and had two goals, whilst we had four or five chances and did not score,” complained Mel afterwards.
“They came out with intensity and were better than us. They were better than us for 25 minutes and scored two goals and then they did not want the ball. Atletico’s best player has been Courtois and that says a lot about us.
“In the return leg we have to go out for it and score two goals. We are able to do so. The tie is not yet over. At our stadium the atmosphere will be different and hopefully the result too.
“Courtois was very good and saved his team, but he is there and is one of the best goalkeepers in the international arena. I do not want to take away credit from Atletico, they were very good for the first 25 minutes…”
