Unai López: “We need to go on a run to fight for Europe”

Athletic Club midfielder Unai López stressed the need for the Lions to put together a string of victories in order to start challenging for European places.

The Rojiblancos face Villarreal in Bilbao on Sunday night, and after last week’s 0-4 win over Cádiz CF, there is hope Athletic can win two consecutive LaLiga Santander matches for the first time this season.

“It’s very important to win on Sunday,” López said at a press conference in Lezama. “We’re playing at home, we must make sure we don’t lose any points.

“We want to fight for Europe and Villarreal are a direct rival in that fight.

“If we go on a run, we can start to look up the table.”

Unai also warned that although Athletic are in a “good moment”, they can’t afford to take Villarreal for granted. The Yellows have not won in LaLiga Santander since January but currently sit in sixth place in the table.

He said: “We have to put in a lot of work this week. Villarreal are a tough side and it will be a hard-fought match.”

The central-midfielder admitted he is feeling confident in the team and also in himself, especially after his assured performance in the middle of the park in Cádiz.

“I’m enjoying myself,” he added. “We’ve got the same intensity we’ve had for a while now, but we’re more consistent and we’re making better use of possession to hurt out opponents.

“The team identifies with the way we’re playing at the moment and that can be seen in the matches.”