Pellegrini: If you use the full main lineup in the UEFA Cup, you will not be able to maintain your position in La Liga

This Thursday, Betis will play Nottingham Forest at home in the UEFA Champions League stage, and coach Pellegrini talked about the topic of lineup rotation.

Betis coach Pellegrini will lead the team in his fifth European tournament and fourth Europa League. Last season, Betis reached the UEFA League finals all the way, but eventually lost to Chelsea.

Pellegrini said: "We are very looking forward to participating in the Europa League again, especially after entering the Europa League final last season. In the previous Europa League, we were eliminated by the champion (Frankfurt) at the last moment, and the other time was eliminated against Manchester United. Today, we are full of hope again and are eager to take the first step."

"I have emphasized many times that we must first make sure to advance. If we can qualify as the former eight, we will do our best, even if we need to play the playoffs, we will do our best and will not ignore La Liga. I believe the team is very motivated and confident of achieving good results in this Europa League."

Pellegrini gave high praise to the first round opponent Nottingham Forest. He believes this is a team with great potential, investing about 250 million euros in the summer transfer market to introduce new players: "Nottingham Forest not only has a long history (winning the UEFA Champions League in 1979 and 1980), but they are more dangerous now." "Last season, they fought in the Premier League until the last moment before losing the opportunity to compete for the Champions League qualification. Therefore, they will now strive to go further in the UEFA Champions League. They have a very strong lineup, and although they have changed their head coach, the new coach is also experienced. We have played against them before when we coached the Celtics. "So, it will be a very difficult opponent. We have to focus on the game itself, and if we can play our balanced squad, there will be a chance to achieve important achievements."

Pellegrini also said that he will continue to maintain his rotation policy in the European competitions because in his opinion, La Liga is always the top priority, at least in the early stages of the European competition: "I have been working hard to find a balance between La Liga and the European Cup, especially if we play on Thursday and need a long trek, we can return to the base on Friday and fly to another city to compete on Saturday. "

"I don't like to ignore La Liga's performance because of this, and I think that's one of the reasons why we were able to qualify for European competitions for several consecutive years. Last year, in the early days of the Europa League, despite a lot of criticism, but because of as many as eight or nine players injured at the time, we couldn't keep our place in La Liga if we used the full main lineup in European competitions."

" This is a point of view that can be discussed, but I think history has proved that this is the right path. A team may send the same starting lineup for every game for a month in a row, but it is impossible to maintain it for five to six months. . Therefore, we will continue to adopt the same strategy, hoping to advance with the top eight in the group."

In addition, Pellegrini agreed with the new match system, believing that the game in a group with eight different opponents has added attractiveness: "I think there are great improvements in the new match system of both the Champions League and the Europa League. It is no longer the traditional two-round system at home and away, but facing eight different opponents, which makes the game more enjoyable.

"On the other hand, the new promotion rules also avoid the past situation where the quality of the match has declined after the qualifying quota has been determined in the last few rounds of the group stage. Overall, these changes are positive. ”

Regarding Anthony, Pellegrini is full of confidence in him and believes that he will get better and better: “From a personal point of view, I have no worries about Anthony. His last official competition was in May this year, which means he has not participated in competitions and training for nearly three months. ”

" Therefore, his performance will gradually improve with the increase of the game, but he can bring different threats every time he gets the ball. He also knows very well that he needs to keep improving through every game, we are happy with his performance and hope he can perform at the best level with a style that suits him. ”

"This style helps to inspire his creativity, make him feel his importance, and thus change his performance, and we will do our best to help every player play at their best. I'm glad to see him join, and despite his two-year lows, we hope everything goes well in the future, which is also a good thing for Betis. ”