Manuel Pellegrini Tactics At Real Betis 2021/2022 – The Art Of Organized Chaos

We’re living in a golden age for Real Betis.

The Seville side finished the 2021/22 season in 5th place, their best campaign in 17 years.

They achieved a consecutive Europa League qualification and stormed all the way to the Copa del Rey final to clinch their first trophy since 2004/05.

And all this from one of the most entertaining sides in Spain.

Led by the timeless Manuel Pellegrini, Los Verdiblancos scored 100 goals in all competitions and exhibited some of La Liga’s most fluid attacking football.

After finishing just five points behind bitter rivals Sevilla, could Betis fans dream of going one better next season?

Could they realistically land a Champions League place?

In this scout report, we’ll explore Betiss unique characteristics, dissect their fluid tactical approach, and consider whether this system could take them even further next season.

Let’s begin by tactically analysing their philosophy and overall game plan to see how they approach things differently from everyone else.

Manuel Pellegrini Possession-based, attacking fluidity

There are two pillars to understanding Real Betis’ philosophy under Pellegrini tactics:

1) Possession is important, but only for the sake of creating chances.

2) Attacking players have complete freedom of position in order to facilitate this.

These ideas radically differ from most top managers in the modern game.

And they are reflected in even the broadest statistics.

In terms of possession, Betis averaged 54.1% last season, which, despite being relatively high, was eclipsed by six other teams.

Sevilla, Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo all had higher possession on average.

But unlike these teams, who try to maintain possession at all costs, Betis are more direct and forward-thinking in their tactics.

While they have a lower possession stat than those sides, they boast a higher xG total (55.2 in the league).

In other words, they are happy to sacrifice control to create danger and unpredictability.

Lets examine Betis shape, system, and attacking movement to see how these principles work in practice.

Real Betis Shape in possession: 4-2-3-1

Real Betis have a well-established basic shape, which they have used all season.

On paper, it’s 4-2-3-1, as you can see below.

However, to reiterate, Pellegrini wants his team to be fluid and unpredictable.

Only a couple of aspects of the team stay consistent throughout a game: the centre-backs and full-backs.

The full-backs