Imagine being one of the match analysts on the staff at Real Betis, collating and trying to make sense of information on future opponents during this crucial segment of the season.
Ahead of Real Madrid’s visit to Seville last weekend, they studied the Spanish champions’ preceding matches – and especially the ominous 46 minutes in late February when Madrid thumped five goals past Liverpool at Anfield.
Meanwhile, ahead of Betis’ trip to Manchester United for Thursday’s first leg of a Europa League last-16 tie, they scrutinise footage of United’s last fixture: Anfield, the same venue at which Madrid had run riot; a mere 12 days after Madrid routed Liverpool there, United shipped seven goals against the home team in the space of 45 minutes.
Trying to establish his bearings between these wildly fluctuating sets of data is Manuel Pellegrini, the vastly experienced Betis manager, whose team were solid enough to keep Madrid goalless on Sunday.
He sees United are well above Liverpool in the Premier League table. He is also wise enough to survey United’s dreadful thrashing at Anfield within the broader context of a run of form in which, since the new year, United have defeated Pellegrini’s old club Manchester City, eliminated Barcelona from Europe and lifted, with victory over Newcastle United in the League Cup final, their first trophy since 2017.
Pellegrini knows bad blips can sometimes just happen. He once oversaw a 7-0 defeat, managing Malaga, away at Real Madrid. His Malaga bounced back to win seven of their next 10 matches and within a year were qualifying for the Champions League.
When a thumping defeat interrupts a club’s momentum, it’s about how the players and the management react that counts.
Erik ten Hag, the United manager, may not be as worldly as Pellegrini but he has his own recovery stories. He was the Ajax manager, who, four winters back, lost 6-2 to arch-rivals Feyenoord. In three of the next four games, Ajax scored at least five times.
The rest of their season would feature winning the Dutch title and a run to the Champions League semi-finals in which Ajax eliminated Juventus and Real Madrid.
“We have to reset and bounce back,” said Ten Hag on Wednesday. “We made a mess on Sunday and we have to deal with that. We have seen the game again, talked about it and set out conclusions.”
Some of those conclusions are that, having gone a goal behind just before half time at Anfield, United became too impatient.
Liverpool 7 Man United 0: Player ratings
Striker Marcus Rashford, whose form going into last weekend had been excellent, suggested: “It comes down to the fact, I believe, everyone was trying to get back into the game so much that we came away from our principles, in and out of possession.
“I felt the forwards were trying to press, just the forward unit, and were disconnected from the midfield.
“We were unorganised and communication was bad. The only thing we can do is learn from it and move on.”
Rashford reacted firmly against any notion that as Liverpool racked up second-half goals, United capitulated. “We didn’t give up,” he insisted, “that’s nonsense.”
He and Ten Hag spoke as one in their support for Bruno Fernandes, the captain against Liverpool and the United player who most clearly displayed his frustrations during the rout.
“He’s playing a brilliant season, he’s played an important role in [putting us] in the position we are, giving energy to the team, intensity in the right way,” said his coach. “He’s an inspiration.
“No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes but I’m really happy to have Bruno in my team and I’m happy with him as our captain with Harry [Maguire, the official club captain] not on the pitch.”
“Bruno’s been a good leader and he’s helped other players become better leaders,” according to Rashford. “I’m 100 per cent behind him.”
Betis 0-0 Real Madrid
Maguire is among the options to come into the United defence should Ten Hag feel the need for significant changes of personnel after the agony of Anfield.
They are up against savvy opponents. Although Betis are without the injured Nabil Fekir, a significant absence, they have plenty of European know-how to call on, from the veteran former City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, 39, to the remarkably durable winger Joaquin Sanchez, a club icon who is now 41.
Betis arrive in Manchester on the back of three Liga wins before the weekend’s gutsy draw with Madrid and sit three points off fourth place – Champions League qualifying – in the Spanish table.
“We have to focus,” said Ten Hag. “In a season, setbacks will always be there, and Liverpool was a huge setback, clearly, but we had a run with 23 games and one loss, before this second one.
“We were really below average, especially our mentality. We got a big lesson. We’ll take it and move on, look forward.”
