Real Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini defended his players after they were dumped out of the Europa Conference League.

A 1-1 draw at Dinamo Zagreb saw Betis lose their playoff 2-1 on aggregate.

Pellegrini said: "I have never been disappointed in a group of players who have qualified for Europe three times with a squad with quite a few limitations, financially. The team struggles but at this level there are shortcomings that have not allowed us to continue in the Europa League or in the Conference.

"We have LaLiga left to be able to return to next season. Then we have to do a diagnosis to see what it needs to be higher in Europe.

"We fight in Europe every year. They have never done it three times in a row and this group deserves merit. We have gone in different ways. Once with Eintracht competing until the 120th minute; another time eliminated by Manchester United, which is a more important team than us and the third time we face the Europa League with a centre back.

"The differences are not so many with the teams that play in Europe, but we cannot give advantages. You cannot tell the team that hasn't fought."