Valverde: "We lacked intensity and didn't react well"

Valverde: "We lacked intensity and didn't react well"

The boss wanted to see his team show more fight after Celta's second half comeback

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde admitted the Lions "lacked fight and intensity" after RC Celta's second-half comeback during Wednesday night's match in Vigo.

The Zurigorri were a goal up and sailing thanks to Alex Berenguer's first-half goal direct from a corner, but Celta, in dire need of points to secure survival, went up a gear in the second half to turn the score around.

"It's not a match that will down in history for its brilliance, for either side," Valverde said after the game, "But they had a lot more at stake.

"We've achieved what we've achieved by sticking together and being intense, that's our secret, but we couldn't match them today.

"We didn't play well and we lacked intensity. When we don't have that intensity we have issues and that's what happened."

The team from Vigo, immersed in the relegation battle, were far superior in the second half according to Valverde.

He said: "In the first half we had the game more or less under control. In the second half they came at us and we tried to hold them off, but we couldn't respond.

"Necessity helps a lot and when a team has it, it goes a long way. We're lacking the ability to create danger, string passes together... we need more dynamism and intensity than what we saw today.