‘League Athletic’s priority, EL a fantasy’

Ernesto Valverde says La Liga is Athletic Bilbao’s priority and the Europa League is ‘a fantasy’ but he still wants to beat AZ Alkmaar.

Athletic find themselves with only four points from a possible 18 in the Primera and have a packed schedule which Valverde is taking into account.

“We play at 7pm [local time] and on Sunday have another important match against Valencia,” he noted, AS reports.

“Changes to the team are seen one way if you win and another if you lose. As a Coach you accept it.

“Our priority is the League and the Europa League is a fantasy. We want to win both matches. The most important match is the one in front of you.

“What I like about my team is that it always competes, in the best or the worst games. We had a bad time against Augsburg, Barcelona and Real Madrid beat us but we were better.

“When it comes to competing, we’re there. We want better results, we’re on track to get them. There’s not been a debacle in the time I’ve been with the team.”

Tags Ernesto Valverde
La Liga - Club News