Ernesto Valverde sympathised with Benat Etxeberria after the midfielder missed the decisive penalty in Athletic Bilbao’s quarter-final defeat to Sevilla on Thursday.
Benat failed to beat David Soria from the spot as Athletic crashed out of the Europa League 5-4 on penalties, despite having taken the tie to 3-3 on aggregate, but Valverde was nonetheless delighted with the Basque’s contributions.
“We lost the tie but we had a great match,” the Coach said after the game.
“As the match progressed, so did we. It was a clash of styles.
“[Benat] was the best player in the tie and missed the penalty.”