Marcelino: “I’m very happy with our performance tonight”

Marcelino lauded his side’s attitude in their victory against Deportivo Alavés at San Mamés and was particularly pleased with the Lions’ defensive solidity.

Athletic beat Alavés 1-0 in the first derby of the season thanks to Raúl García‘s 44th-minute goal, while Alavés barely had a meaningful shot on goal.

I think we need to focus on the positives and not the negatives. We give away few chances and we hardly concede any goals,” Marcelino said during his post-match press conference.

“I am very satisfied with the team’s performance over these first eight games. I also want to thank the fans, we have a lot of young players and we have to support them.”

Marcelino pointed out Athletic’s ability to get over Raúl García early saved penalty as an impressive aspect of the performance on the night.

He said: “We were able to overcome that missed penalty. Alavés didn’t have any chances and we had several. We did very well on the ball. We defended with the ball and with patience during the last few minutes.”

It was a special night for Athletic Club striker Iñaki Williams, who made a 203rd LaLiga appearance on the bounce to break the long-standing record for most consecutive matches. Marcelino was full of praise for Iñaki’s achievement:

“First of all, congratulations,” Marcelino added. “In modern day football, a lot of work has to go behind playing this number of games in a row.

“He should be proud of himself. I think it will do him a lot of good on an emotional level. He played a great game and we’re very happy for him and with the contribution he has made. We encourage him to play another 200 games; it will be good for him and for Athletic.

Athletic will now be out of action for three weeks due to having to face an extended international break.

“Going into the break with a win is much better,” he explained. “Having a bad game and reacting in the following two as we have done means we are on the right track. It’s a shame that we have to wait for an extra week, but we’ll try to achieve our objectives and not lose our rhythm.”