Valverde: “These are three massive points for us”

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde praised his team after their 3-2 win over "a great side" in Girona FC, saying the victory is a huge morale boost for the Lions.

In a back-and-forth affair, an Alex Berenguer double and an Iñaki Williams strike saw the Zurigorri pick up three important points.

"The match had everything. There were no stoppages and no time to rest. It was probably one of our most demanding matches so far," Valverde said at full-time.

"Even at 3-1 we knew it wasn't over because they never give up and they made it 3-2. Then they had a very clear chance that Vivian saved. We had to suffer but these are three massive points for us.

"From an psychological point of view, it means a lot in view of the difficult games coming up against big opponents. I think we've taken an important step towards playing in Europe, but there's still a long way to go."

The boss was particularly impressed with how the players responded to the setbacks thrown their way, with Girona FC making things especially difficult in the second half.

He said: "It was a very intense match between two good teams, as it was in the reverse fixture. Girona are a great team who always find the free player in midfield. They dominate the game and when they connect with their forwards they are devastating.

"They forced us to try to keep up a very high and aggressive press otherwise we would needed to play deeper and that would have been risky.

"It's true we stole possession and hurt them but they also hurt us when they got past our press because they attacked with a lot of danger."