The numbers come first — and right now they read one win, one win, one loss for Real Betis in Manuel Pellegrini's preseason build-up to what will be the club's second appearance in the UEFA Champions League.
On Saturday, the Andalusian side fell 1-0 to Granada, a club currently competing in Spain's Segunda División. The result snapped a two-match winning run that had opened with a 3-0 rout of Sportfreunde Lotte in Germany — a match Pellegrini himself missed due to a personal matter — and continued with a 1-0 victory over Recreativo de Huelva back in Spain.
Spanish media turns up the heat
Mundo Deportivo noted that Pellegrini 'made numerous experiments' in the lineup against Granada, 'although few of them produced positive results.' Marca was more pointed, writing that the team 'offered a somewhat irregular performance and confirmed that it still has work ahead to reach the competitive level it needs in a season with Champions League football.'
Both outlets are reacting to the same underlying reality: the 2026/27 campaign will carry a weight Betis supporters have rarely felt. LaLiga pressure is constant, but a Champions League group-stage slot — only the club's second in history — raises the stakes considerably. Capital rewards clear rules, and so does elite European football: squads that arrive at September underprepared pay the price in the standings.
What comes next
Pellegrini will have an immediate opportunity to answer his critics. On July 29, Betis are scheduled to face Olympique de Lyon in their fourth preseason fixture of the European summer. A performance against a Ligue 1 side will offer a more meaningful data point than a loss to a second-division opponent, however uncomfortable that loss may be.
CEO Times take
Preseason defeats against lower-division clubs are, in isolation, unremarkable — coaches rotate, test formations and accept short-term results in exchange for long-term information. What matters is whether the organization around Pellegrini is giving him the roster depth and tactical clarity to compete on two demanding fronts simultaneously. A club preparing for its second-ever Champions League appearance cannot afford to treat the group stage as a learning exercise.
The market for managerial talent is unforgiving. Pellegrini has earned his credibility across decades at the highest level of club football. The question the Spanish press is really asking is whether Betis as an institution — not just its coach — is built for the moment. The Lyon friendly on July 29 will tell us more than a summer scoreline against Granada ever could.
