Ernesto Valverde described Athletic Bilbao’s win over Rayo Vallecano as ‘hard and difficult’ but believes it could have been sealed earlier.
Aritz Aduriz scored with four minutes to play to give Athletic their first win at San Mames since week 12 and after the match, the Coach reflected on the effort his side had to put in to get three points.
“We scored when the game was in the red. It was a hard and difficult win because we had many chances and I think we could have solved it before,” Valverde said, AS reports.
“We weren’t successful until the end. It was an even game until the end and that means it tastes even better.”
Valverde also explained why he subbed off Unai Lopez before half-time in favour of Oscar de Marcos, clarifying that it was a tactical decision.
“Rayo played a high defensive line and I saw we weren’t getting much play in midfield and we needed someone to run and get the ball into space,” he noted.
“That had to be de Marcos, who is a specialist. It wasn’t Lopez’s fault because I thought he could have come in handy.
“Inaki Williams? He has a lot of energy. With it we can play in space and this was a game for that. We also know he will get chances because he sniffs them out in the penalty area
“As well as that, Iker Muniain put in a lot of effort on Thursday.”
