Garitano: “This club always places its trust in young players”

Athletic Club manager Gaizka Garitano lauded the impact of the substitutions and young players in Saturday’s 2-1 win against Sevilla FC at San Mamés.

Captain Iker Muniain and youngster Oihan Sancet came off the bench to score in the last 15 minutes, firing Athletic to a well-deserved comeback victory.

“This club always places its trust in young players and today they responded,” Garitano said in his post-match press conference. “We’ve never doubted ourselves. This was a victory built on belief.”

He continued: “We played well today. We’re very happy, this is an important win for us.”

Garitano admitted the plan was to “play the match at a high pace” and said he was pleased with how the team adapted throughout the 90 minutes.

“It was a back-and-forth encounter and we knew the first half would be more physical,” Garitano added. “They started better, but we improved as the match went on. The team kept growing into the game and finished it off at a great level.”