While West Ham are on the brink of relegation, two former Hammers have just qualified for the Champions League.
Pablo Fornals will be playing in European football’s top competition next season for Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis.
Fornals’ wondergoal in Betis’ 2-1 victory over Elche on Tuesday night secured a crucial fifth-place finish in La Liga.
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Pablo Fornals screamer sends Real Betis to the Champions League
Real Betis and Celta Vigo headed into Tuesday’s La Liga game in direct competition for the final Champions League place.
With Celta Vigo losing 3-2 at home to Levante, Betis only needed to beat Elche at home to seal their qualification.
The score was 1-1 at half-time before Pablo Fornals’ 68th-minute screamer secured all three points for Pellegrini’s side.
Fornals controlled the ball about 25 yards out following a Betis corner, and whipped it into the top left corner.
The Betis players, staff and supporters went wild in the Benito Villamarin Stadium, realising the bigger picture at hand.
The result ended Betis’ wait to play in the Champions League since facing Liverpool, Chelsea and Anderlecht 20 years ago.
“It’s not easy to be in European competitions for six years, much less to have qualified for the Champions League two matches before the end of the season,” Pellegrini said, via Reuters.
“We started the first match of the season against Elche, and at the end of the team talk, we wrote in green letters, ‘Today we begin our journey to the Champions League.'”
Betis’ fortunes are a stark contrast to West Ham’s at the moment, as they have Championship football on their minds.
It also raises the question of why Pellegrini struggled at the London Stadium, having enjoyed so much success elsewhere.
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