Valverde: “We'll go there and play to win”
Valverde: “We'll go there and play to win”
The boss spoke to the media at Lezama before the Lions head to Barcelona for Saturday's clash at the Olimpic Lluis Company (19:00 CEST).
Ernesto Valverde reiterated that despite the difficulty entailed Athletic Club will go for all three points in their LaLiga EA Sports clash with FC Barcelona on Saturday evening (19:00 CEST).
Former Germany and Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick is now in charge of the Blaugrana and they kicked off the new season with a 1-2 victory over Valencia.
"I expect a very difficult game. We're talking about an opponent who, in terms of potential and quality, are candidates to win LaLiga," Valverde said at his pre-match press conference.
"We'll go there and play with the aim of winning. It's a stadium we don't do very well at. But every time we play there we have a new opportunity to win.
"We always want to win, no matter the opponent. It's a team we haven't beaten away for a long time.
"We're not the only ones. We're talking about a team that is always in the running to win the title. It's difficult to pick up points there, but this is an opportunity to do so and we're looking forward to it."
The Zurigorri kicked off their 2024/25 LaLiga campaign with a draw against Getafe and the gaffer warned there are some more tricky fixtures ahead over the next two weeks.
After Saturday's clash in Barcelona, Los Leones welcome Valencia CF (Wednesday 28th) and Atletico Madrid (Saturday 31st) to Bilbao.
Valverde said: "We weren't as good as we would've liked against Getafe. We tried, but the opponent was very strong in the duels and disputes, as you have to be, and they didn't let us play our game.
"Now we have a tough week ahead. It's a complicated start to the season, which has been made more difficult by not winning the first game. That's why we need points. We have to play these three games with the utmost enthusiasm and commitment."