Betis punished for taking foot off the gas, says captain Isco

WROCLAW, Poland :Real Betis paid the price for taking their foot off the pedal after an impressive first half in Wednesday’s Conference League final defeat by Chelsea, said their inspirational captain Isco and veteran coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Betis were a goal up at the break after dominating against their English opponents but were swept away in the second half as Chelsea came back strongly to record a 4-1 victory.

"I think we took refuge in the scoreboard a bit. We sat too deep. They're a team with a lot of quality, a lot of power,” said Isco, a five-times Champions League winner with Real Madrid who was outstanding in the opening 45 minutes but like the rest of his teammates looked jaded after the break.

“It’s a very heavy defeat after what we did in the first half. Football is unforgiving,” he said.

“We had a good first half where they barely had any chances. We had it close and we didn't know how to take advantage of the score, something that has penalised us all season. In a European final, mistakes are very punishing.

“In the second half, they ran over us. It's painful,” he added.

“We couldn't maintain the rhythm we expected. It was a tough opponent. A final rout that I don't think reflects the difference between the two teams," added Pellegrini.

"We mustn't forget that we were facing Chelsea. I'm disappointed that we outplayed them in the first half but then let it slip in the second half.

“In the second half, we probably needed to keep pressing higher,” added defender Marc Bartra, another player with past Champions League success, at Barcelona.

But he had fulsome praise for the Spanish club’s fans who vastly outnumbered Chelsea supporters and provided a noisy background in the Polish city.

"It's a source of pride to see