Marcelino: “While we still have a shot at Europe, we must win”

Marcelino García Toral reminded his Athletic Club players that they have no choice but to win Sunday’s match at San Mamés against CA Osasuna (19:30 CEST) if they want to keep their European hopes alive.

The Lions go into their final home game of the season four points behind Villarreal in seventh place and a spot in next season’s Europa Conference League. With just six points left on the table, Athletic must win their remaining matches and hope Villarreal pick up less than two points.

“I would like to see out the season with a victory at San Mamés. We have to bounce back. Let’s see if we can do it together with the fantastic support we always have at The Cathedral,” Marcelino said at his pre-match press conference.

“We’re playing against a very strong Osasuna side who have picked up a lot of points away from home. But our duty is always to go out and try to win. And while we still have a shot at Europe, we must win.”

Marcelino pointed to Athletic’s 1-3 LaLiga Santander win at El Sadar in January as the perfect template for winning all three points on Sunday.

He said: “If we play a similar game to what we did there, we’ll have a good chance of winning. We were very clear about what we wanted to do in the transitions and in attack, while we also defended their crosses very well.

“Osasuna attack quickly and with depth. They’re also very good at moving second balls to the flanks and getting a lot of bodies in the box. All of that makes them very dangerous.”