Valverde: “We still have one match left to reach our goal"
Valverde: “We still have one match left to reach our goal"
The gaffer regrets missing an opportunity to take a big step forward with just one match left of the season
Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde reiterated that despite Sunday's 0-1 defeat to Elche CF, the Lions' European dream is not completely dead in the water just yet.
The challenge could not be more difficult for Los Leones, who will have to beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu next Sunday (18:30 CEST) while hoping CA Osasuna fail to beat Girona.
"We have to play a game and we have to fight for it," Valverde said post-match. "Let's not take it for lost, we have to keeping going until the end. We have one game left and we have to give it everything we've got it."
A Lucas Boye goal in stoppage time denied Athletic the chance to go into the final weekend with European qualification in their own hands. Los Leones had several chances to win the match, but were not clinical enough in the final third.
Valverde said: "We had some very clear chances, and it was a repeat of what has happened on other occasions with the bad luck we had with that goal at the end.
“The match was a summary of what this year has been like: dominating, getting into the final, shooting, not getting it right but them getting it right at the other end. That's how it was today too. It's a missed opportunity."