Real Betis travel north to San Sebastian tomorrow evening to take on Real Sociedad in the quarter-final of the Copa del Rey. It’s a huge game given a place in the semi-final is at stake. Both sides are of a high quality and capable of beating anyone on their day.
“I think it’s clear that it’s a key match for the Copa del Rey,” coach Manuel Pellegrini said pre-match as carried by Marca. “We’re in three different competitions and the Copa del Rey is one-legged, so you either continue or you’re eliminated.
“So of course it’s a final for us. We’re going to step up. It has nothing to do with the rest of the season, only with the Copa del Rey, and it’s very important for us to continue advancing in it.”
Pellegrini made it clear, however, that he was unhappy with the way the quarter-finals were slotted into the calendar. The match comes just hours after an international break solely for South American players concluded, with several Betis players involved.
“What’s strange is that they have put a Copa del Rey match on the same date as the qualifiers,” he said. “I think that’s avoidable, it’s discrediting a tournament as important as the Copa del Rey and it’s giving an advantage to the opponent.
“We’re going to have five fewer players than Real Sociedad. In professional football you cannot give an advantage and the competitions have to be organised so that there’s the total availability of players in the squad.”
Betis have outperformed La Real so far this season. The Andalusian outfit are currently third in La Liga, six points behind second-placed city rivals Sevilla and ten off league leaders Real Madrid. La Real are down in sixth, battling with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to make it into the top four. They’re two points off fourth and six behind Betis.
Both sides are still alive in the Copa, obviously, but also in the Europa League. Betis are looking forward to facing Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg in the next round while La Real take on German side Leipzig.
