Ernesto Valverde doesn’t believe his Athletic Bilbao players will make the same mistakes against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
The sides meet in the Copa del Rey quarter-final second-leg with Atleti holding a 1-0 lead from the first encounter thanks to Diego Godin’s first-half goal.
Valverde was critical of the defending that allowed the Uruguayan to net but is confident his team will learn from the error.
“Having not marked in the first-leg, we know the penalty now.
“Atletico have only lost to Espanyol this season and even then by just one goal.
“We have to try to score, if we can in the first minute.
“We can’t come just to defend, we have to score and win.”
Valverde added that he was not any less wary of Diego Costa despite the forward being in the midst of a seven-game goalless streak.
“Diego Costa is a great player. Fast, aggressive, heads the ball well.
“You have to pay special attention to him. They will put in a lot of crosses for Costa and we must be prepared to challenge him for them.”
Valverde confirmed that the team had practiced penalties throughout the campaign, although conceded that they may not have done so very well having missed spot kicks this season.
