Marcelino: “A draw wouldn’t have been unfair”

Marcelino García Toral insisted that Athletic Club’s performance at the Camp Nou on Sunday night warranted at least a point.

Despite battling away and having chances to equalise after Antoine Griezmann’s 75th minute goal, Athletic lost 2-1 to FC Barcelona in the LaLiga Santander clash.

It was just second time the Rojiblancos have lost under Marcelino since he took over at the beginning of January, the first loss also coming against Barça in LaLiga Santander.

“The aim was to win here,” the Athletic head coach said during his post-match press conference. “We deserved a positive result. A draw wouldn’t have been unfair.”

Marcelino admitted the Lions’ first-half performance was not their best since he took charge.

“Our first half was far from what we want and are capable of,” he said. “At the start, we were awkward and nervous.

“We struggled in possession and when under pressure.”

However, according to the boss, Athletic went up a notch after the break.

“Taking into account the opponents we were playing against, we did great in the second half,” he added.

“It was more in line with what we’ve seen before.

“We played with conviction and we made life difficult for them. They didn’t threaten much and we created a lot of danger.

“We weren’t accurate in front of goal, but we were better than Barça.”