Former Manchester City and West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini is heading back to Manchester as his Real Betis side take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Chilean coach spent three years in charge at the Etihad Stadium, winning a Premier League title and two Carabao Cups. He also boasts an impressive record against Manchester United from his time with the Cityzens and the Hammers. He recorded five wins against the Red Devils during his two stints in the Premier League, becoming the first coach in history to defeat four different United managers - David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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He also accomplished four goalless draws with Sir Alex Ferguson’s United in the Champions League back when he was in charge of Villarreal. In the 13 games in which he has faced the English giants, he has only been defeated three times, once while he was at City and twice during his forgettable spell with West Ham. And that is not all that Manchester United need to be wary of.
It has been said before that Pellegrini has overseen a remarkable renaissance with Real Betis as his side finished fifth in La Liga last term. They missed out on the top four by just four points and the veteran tactician has got them in a similar position again in 2022-23. He also guided Los Verdiblancos to their third Copa del Rey title by defeating Valencia 5-4 on penalties at Estadio La Cartuja in their hometown of Seville.
Their push for a Champions League place is going well this year despite the club being in the familiar position of fifth. They are just three points shy of Real Sociedad in fourth and have been in better form than Imanol Alguacil’s side in the last five league matches. Betis held reigning champions Real Madrid to a goalless draw at home on Sunday, whereas United were handed one of their worst defeats in their history when they lost 7-0 to Liverpool at Anfield on the same day.
And given that Los Blancos fired five past Liverpool in the Champions League, United cannot underestimate Pellegrini’s men. Especially when they didn’t lose a single match in the Europa League group stage, winning five and drawing once as they topped Group C by six points.
Real Betis have long been dubbed a sleeping giant in Spain, and ever since Pellegrini was acquired to lead the team the club has been slowly waking up. The Spanish side are going to give a deflated Manchester United team a lot to think about when the two square up for this exciting first leg at Old Trafford on Thursday evening and Pellegrini’s record against the Red Devils speaks for itself. Could he rub salt in the wounds left by Sunday’s heavy loss against Liverpool?
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