Valverde: "We have to keep this up"

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde urged his players to maintain their good run of form they extended their unbeaten run to five matches with a 0-2 win over Deportivo Alavés at Mendizorrotza.

Los Rojiblancos picked up all three points thanks to strikes from Iñaki Williams and Oihan Sancet either side of half-time. The victory also means Athletic will end the weekend in the Champions League spots, currently sitting fourth with 13 points.

"We're happy. We've come here, where there's a tough atmosphere, played well and got a result," Valverde said post-match. "But now we have to keep this up. Thirteen points out of 18? That tells me we've dropped five on the way." 

"It was a derby, we played well. Both teams were strong and little by little we took control of the match." 

Athletic grew as the match went on, barely giving Alavés a sniff until the final five minutes when Unai Simón had to pull of some fine saves to keep the clean sheet intact.

Valverde said: "We conceded very little in the first 85 minutes. We always want to keep a clean sheet and give away as few chances as possible. If we maintain our intensity from start to finish we're a tough to beeat. At the moment we're resolute, which is what we're looking for."