Ernesto Valverde revelled in Athletic Bilbao’s “magical night” as he masterminded a 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the Supercopa first leg on Friday.
Los Leones’ record against last season’s treble-winners had not made for good reading prior to the match at San Mames, but Mikel San Jose’s goal from the centre-circle and Aritz Aduriz’s hat-trick saw the side take a commanding lead in the tie ahead of next week’s return trip to Catalonia.
“It’s true that it was a huge result, which few people expected, but that’s football,” he said after the game.
“Sometimes you don’t take your chances and sometimes you do. The result is especially noteworthy because Barca don’t usually concede four goals.
“It was a magical evening at San Mames and we’ll see if we can make it count on Monday because we still have lots to do.
“We haven’t won or lost anything yet. We all know what awaits us at Camp Nou.
“We knew that it’d be a tough game [on Friday], but now we carry a big lead [into the second leg].
“[Defending the lead] may have been easier against another team, but against Barcelona I already know it won’t be.
“It’s a shame that the final isn’t a single match as we still have plenty of suffering to do.
“We’re all aware of it, nothing has been decided yet. Barca are capable of doing anything and scoring a lot of goals.
"People can analyse what they want [from the match]. When you play against a big team, [the analyses] are always angled from their perspective.
“The analyses are always based on what the big team have and haven’t done. We won 4-0 and played the match that suited us.
“[Barca] made a great start and enjoyed great possession the first few minutes, but we scored the first goal.
“In the second half, they had a few chances but little in terms of clarity. We then got the second goal and the rest followed.
"Barca only played three days ago and didn’t have sufficient time to prepare for the match.
“When we play in a final, we try to win at all costs and do everything we can.
“I've had happier nights because we haven’t won anything yet. It may be a historic result, which ourselves and the fans enjoyed, but it’s only the first leg.
“Still, it’s clear that we have a good chance [of winning the trophy], even more so than at the beginning [of the tie].”
