Valverde: “Their goal was a bitter blow”
Valverde: “Their goal was a bitter blow”
This is what the gaffer said to the press after Athletic's late defeat to Atletico
Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde admitted Atlético Madrid's 92nd-minute winner was a "blow" given how well the Lions had performed.
Angel Correa caught Los Leones on the counter-attack to see Atlético take all three points back.
"These things can happen in football. It was a pretty tight game," Valverde said after the match.
"In the first half, they sat deep, trying to catch us on the counter-attack and we didn't manage to create chances from shots or crosses.
"In the second half, the game was broken, we had a goal disallowed, although it is also true that they escaped our press and attacked with more precision than in the first half.
"The match was 0-0, but at any given moment, the game could have gone one way or the other. We didn't take our chances and, in the end, they scored the goal.
"It's a bitter blow for us. If we couldn't win this game, at least we had to draw.It's a bitter blow for us. If we couldn't win this game, at least we had to draw.
"We are a team that fights, that tries to move forward, but sometimes we make mistakes and we make mistakes that we don't want to make. This is football."
Despite the defeat, Valverde was pleased with the overall performance and is optimistic about the future.
He said: "Every match is different. The first one was very tight. The second, against FC Barcelona, we tried to do the best we could. And in the last two, the other day we played very well and in this one, we had some good moments.
"At times we struggled to get into the rhythm we're used to in order to win. We're a good team, we know we're going to get better. It was a shame, but we have to keep going."