Ernesto Valverde admitted he was ‘in heaven’ after Athletic Bilbao secured their place in next season’s Champions League.
Los Leones beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0 on Friday night thanks to goals from Mikel San Jose, Oscar De Marcos and Ander Herrera.
And the Coach praised his men after they confirmed their place in the top four.
“We had three games to try and achieve this objective, and we didn’t want to mess it up tonight,” he told a Press conference.
“We took this as a final, and now we’re in heaven. It is a great joy to see this team in the Champions League.
“We knew Rayo would come at us with intensity, so we wanted to start the match well. I thought we did that.
“For a team like Athletic to only be behind Atletico, Barcelona and Real Madrid is a triumph.”
