Athletic Bilbao boss Marcelo Bielsa has lamented his players’ inability to convert the number of chances they create into goals.
Despite the 3-3 Europa League draw with HJK Helsinki in the Sonera Stadium, the Argentine bemoaned the fact his team needs to create a plethora of opportunities to find the back of the net.
“I feel we need to create lots of chances for the number of goals we score, while we concede too many in relation to our attacking and defensive capabilities,” Bielsa told assembled media after seeing his side qualify for the group stages 9-3 on aggregate.
“To make so many chances and score three goals is not enough. The ones we scored [through Mikel San Jose, Gaizka Toquero and Igor Martinez] came not as a result of the way we play but from set-pieces.
“After the 6-0 win in the first leg it is a scoreline that does not reflect the potential of both teams,” added Bielsa, who went on to praise the ‘valuable contributions’ of Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Iker Muniain and Ibai Gomez.
