Malaga boss Javi Gracia said he was thankful for not having conceded in the first-leg Copa del Rey quarter-final clash with Athletic Bilbao.
The Costa del Sol outfit and the Basques cancelled each other out at La Rosaleda in a game that had very few chances and unsurprisingly petered out into a scoreless draw.
However, Gracia maintains there is still everything to play for in next week’s return at San Mames.
“The result in this first part of the tie could have been better, but despite not winning we managed to keep a clean sheet and that’s a step forward.
“I was hoping for something better but it was a very tight game with few chances. In attack we suffered from a lack of aggression and struggled to create anything.
“In relation to the last few games we’ve improved defensively but we continue to struggle in front of goal, yet we are still in this tie,” he maintained.
