Valverde: “It was a hard-fought match, as we expected"

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde said the Lions' 2-2 draw with Getafe CF at San Mames was as combative as he imagined it would be.

In an eventful affair, Los Leones twice took the lead and played with ten men for 45 minutes after Oihan Sancet was sent off on the stroke of half-time. On top of that, visiting coach Jose Bordalas was sent off after a small sideline scuffle shortly before full-time.

"There was tension, a sending off, a lot of battling, moments for both teams... It was a hard-fought match, as we expected," Valverde said in his post-match press conference.

Valverde conceded he thought a win might have been on the cards when Iñaki Williams made it 2-1 in the second half, but he was satisfied with the performance nonetheless.

He added: “It was a great effort to play the entire second half with a player less. We started well, got the goal and had chances to get more, but the sending off really had a big impact on us for the rest of the match.

"We started the second half badly. They scored, we recovered and then they responded again. It's a shame but we've picked up an important point."