Valverde: "We were never comfortable"

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde admitted the Lions were not good enough as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Almería at the Power Horse Stadium on Monday night.

Los Rojiblancos had chances to take the win via headers from Aitor Paredes and Raul García, while they also had a man extra for the final 30 minutes, but they struggled to breakdown Almería's defence.

"We didn't play well and they didn't let us play as the way we would have liked," Valverde said after full-time.

"It wasn't our best game, but we had to keep going. We have to get into the rhythm of the game and dominate our opponents. We were never comfortable from the start. There were a lot of unforced errors. 

"When they were a man down they were very good at the back and without space it's difficult. Even so, we weren't very accurate in situations between the lines. There was no fluency and all we had left were lateral crosses.

"I know that in the standings there is a big difference in terms of points, but today everyone had their chances to win and neither team managed to do it."

The draw sees Athletic remain in fifth place in the league table, two points away from Atlético Madrid, while the Zurigorri also stretch their unbeaten run to three matches.

Valverde said: "To stay where we are, we have to fight hard and be very clinical. There's still a long way to go in the season and we'll see where we end up.

"Even though we didn't win, we were the better side. I think the draw is fair. I suppose the point we're leaving with doesn't mean much to either side, but that's what it is."