Real Betis paid the price for taking their foot off the pedal after an impressive first half in Wednesday’s Conference League final defeat by Chelsea, said their inspirational captain Isco and veteran coach Manuel Pellegrini.
Betis were a goal up at the break after dominating their English opponents, but were swept away in the second half as Chelsea came back strongly to record a 4-1 victory.
“We had a good first half where they barely had any chances,” Isco said after the match. “We had it close and we didn’t know how to take advantage of the score, something that has penalised us all season. In a European final, mistakes are very punishing.
“In the second half, they ran over us. It’s painful.”
Abde Ezzalzouli staked Betis to their first-half lead from a pinpoint Isco assist, but Chelsea took control in the second half with Cole Palmer pulling the strings for the Premier League side, who had Enzo Fernández, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Moisés Caicedo all on the scoresheet.
“I think we took refuge in the scoreboard a bit. We sat too deep. They’re a team with a lot of quality, a lot of power,” said Isco, a five-times Champions League winner with Real Madrid who was outstanding in the opening 45 minutes but like the rest of his teammates looked jaded after the break.
“It’s a very heavy defeat after what we did in the first half. Football is unforgiving.
“We couldn’t maintain the rhythm we expected. It was a tough opponent. A final rout that I don’t think reflects the difference between the two teams,” added Pellegrini.
Betis will compete in the higher level Europa League next season after a sixth-place finish in La Liga.
