Marcelino hailed Villarreal’s 0-0 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday as “more than a point” due to their superior head-to-head record.
The Yellow Submarine’s stalemate at San Mames, coupled with their 3-2 victory on home soil earlier in the season, means they will finish above the Basques in the event they are level on points at the end of the season.
“I’m very satisfied [with the result],” the Coach said after the game.
“It’s more than a point because we now have a superior head-to-head against Athletic.
“It was a super-competitive match between two good teams, who searched for the win differently.
“We both played a lot of football, and I’m extremely proud, given the windy and rainy conditions, which made things difficult.
“We were at a great level defensively, and the winning team had to be Villarreal.
“In the second half, we cancelled out Athletic and they didn’t test our goal once.”
