‘Not only Lamine Yamal’… Manuel Pellegrini highlights the reason why Barcelona dominated his Real Betis side last night | OneFootball

FC Barcelona thrashed Real Betis with a 5-1 scoreline to advance to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey last night. With this win, the Catalans continued to show their dominant form, having beaten Real Madrid with a 5-2 win only a few days earlier.

Thus, there is no doubt that the Blaugranes are going through a very good run of form, and this factor was also recognized by the Real Betis coach, Manuel Pellegrini, as he talked to the media following this loss.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Verdiblanco coach admitted that his side made a lot of mistakes against a side that is playing at a very high level:

“When you lose 5-1, the assessment is very negative; it cannot be positive in any way. It’s true that we faced a great Barça, who are in great form as they showed last Sunday in the Supercup, and they are playing at a very high level, but we gave away too many defensive errors.”

The Spanish tactician also highlighted how this game was different from the one played at Benito Villamarin where his side got a 2-2 draw against Barcelona in La Liga:

“In the Villamarín, we played a very good game and deserved to win. We created many chances, and defensively, we were more aggressive than we were today. We allowed Barcelona to play by waiting for them in our own half and not pressing the ball enough.”

“They hurt us quite a bit in defense from various areas, and we know the level of Lamine Yamal, but I think they had chances from multiple sides and scored five goals. I believe that the aggressiveness in recovering the ball was an important factor that set today’s match apart from the one in the league at the Villamarín.”

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

On the whole, Pellegrini did not believe that Barcelona were able to dominate in this game mainly because of a single player:

“Not only Lamine Yamal is in great form, but also three, four, or five players like Rafinha, Olmo, or Pedri are having a very good moment, and that is reflected in the results they are achieving on the field. I don’t think this good play from Barcelona is the work of just one player, but rather the work of a team.”

There is no doubt that the Catalans played a very good game last night, and the praise from their opposition coach just confirms the good level they showed. Hopefully, this good form will continue for the coming matches, and Barcelona will be able to add more titles to accompany their Spanish Super Cup trophy before the season ends.