Pellegrini's Betis Sets Sights on Champions League After Conference League Final Berth

Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini celebrates his team's historic Conference League final berth after defeating Fiorentina 4-3 on aggregate, but prioritizes securing a Champions League spot in LaLiga. Meanwhile, Fiorentina's Raffaele Palladino vows to bounce back from the painful loss and focus on securing European play in Serie A.

Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini celebrated the team's historic advancement to the Conference League final after defeating Fiorentina 4-3 on aggregate. However, he emphasized that his primary focus remains on securing a Champions League spot in LaLiga.

“A decisive extra-time goal from Abde Ezzalzouli secured Betis a 4-3 aggregate win,” Pellegrini said, highlighting the importance of the win. Pellegrini's priority is to finish in the top four in LaLiga, ensuring a spot in the prestigious Champions League competition.

Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini expressed satisfaction with his team's performance, prioritizing the joy of Betis fans.

“My satisfaction is logical. It makes me much happier to see the joy of the Betis fans. We felt a little bit indebted, with the need to give the Betis fans this kind of joy,” Pellegrini said.

Betis will face Chelsea in the final but first focuses on ending the LaLiga season strong, currently sixth with 57 points, just one point behind Villarreal.

“From tomorrow we leave the Conference League out because we have four very important league games left to aim for the Champions League until the end of the season,” he said.

”We are very happy to reach the final, and even more so with Chelsea and I sent (manager Enzo) Maresca a message a long time ago being very happy for him.”

Fiorentina manager Raffaele Palladino described the team's Conference League semi-final loss as a “painful wound.”

“Undoubtedly, this is a painful wound for the team and I must now do well to steer them through. We’ve had other disappointments, this is a group of great men and I am sure they will be able to react straight away,” Palladino said, expressing confidence in his team's resilience.

Fiorentina's recent trend in European finals has seen them fall short due to late deciding goals, adding to their disappointment.

Fiorentina will focus on securing European play in the remaining Serie A matches, currently sitting eighth with 59 points.

“We must be good at resetting: tonight we won't sleep, but from tomorrow we'll focus on Venezia (match on Monday) and finishing the league well,” manager Raffaele Palladino said, emphasizing the need to move forward.

See you soon in Wroclaw, @ChelseaFC 👋 pic.twitter.com/1fMhwZ5zsf

— Real Betis Balompié (@RealBetis_en) May 8, 2025

Fiorentina trails Juventus, who holds the last Champions League spot, by four points, with three matches left to climb the table.