Manuel Pellegrini speaks; he isn't a happy man after Celtic fringe Bhoys show up Betis

By John McGinley

December 10, 2021

Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini was disappointed with the nature of his side’s defeat to Celtic in the UEFA Europa League last night.

While Betis themselves had some rotation in their starting line-up, Ange Postecoglou made a staggering eleven changes to the Celtic line-up, far weaker than the Spaniards.

Despite that, Celtic came out on top 3-2 thanks to goals from Stephen Welsh, David Turnbull and Ewan Henderson.

Pellegrini delivers verdict on Celtic vs Betis

Speaking to Marca after the game, Pellegrini said: “I was expecting a game like this. There was nothing on the line but we saw a lot of goals and we made some important mistakes. We’re into the next round, which is what counts, but I’m not happy with the way in which we lost.

“We had 19 shots, of which seven or eight were on target. They surprised us with the goal after two minutes and the other two were our mistakes. It was a game in which we were able to gain a two or three goal lead but didn’t manage it for various reasons.”

Betis certainly had big chances throughout the 90 minutes. A combination of good defending, goalkeeping and old fashioned luck helped Celtic weather a few Spanish storms.

However, credit ultimately has to be paid to the fringe Bhoys. When the line-ups were announced, not many people gave the team a shot to pick up the three points.

Obviously all that hard work at Lennoxtown is paying off for the squad and a few of them could well find they now get more opportunities over the coming weeks and months.

In other news, Celtic supporters deliver verdict on Osaze Urhoghide’s debut.