Jose Luis Mendilibar praised Eibar for “taking advantage” of Athletic Bilbao's exhaustion following Sunday's 2-0 victory at Ipurua in La Liga.
Goals from Saul Berjon (penalty) and Adrian Gonzalez earned Los Armeros a first-ever win against their Basque rivals as they maintained their grip at the League summit, and the Coach felt his side were full value for the three points.
“Athletic were tired because they'd played a lot of games, so we took advantage in that respect,” he said after the game.
“We have to believe in ourselves. The victory was deserved because both of our goals were perfectly legitimate.
“For the first goal, Sergi Enrich was very clever as he stole the ball from [Aymeric] Laporte, got in between the defender and the ball and won the penalty.
“Then, in the second half, we played deeper. Athletic dominated but didn't cause us problems. From a corner, we scored our second goal and it was easier after that.
“We've only played two games so we'll see what happens. We have to get many points, 40 points, on the board to stay up, but we now need to get six less.
“[Despite 14 new players], the team have bonded quickly and are a great group.
“We've started the League well and there's no dispute as to who plays. We're all rowing in the same direction.
“The story may tell us we're top of the table and beat Athletic for the first time, but these are things that should be left in the past. Instead, we picked up three points and now have more points as a result.”
