Valverde: "It was a great match. We're very happy"
Valverde: "It was a great match. We're very happy"
This is what our head coach said in his press conference after Thursday night's Europa League win against AZ Alkmaar
Ernesto Valverde was full of praise for his Athletic Club players after they secured an important 2-0 win against "a great" AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night.
Nico Williams was the architect behind both goals. First he set up Iñaki and then the rebound from his effort landed at Oihan Sancet's feet to put away.
"From my point of view it was a great match," Valvered said in his post-match press conference.
"You could sense its importance in the atmosphere at the stadium and it was obvious Bilbao was desperate to experience a European night like that again after so many years.
"The team performed well, we got into our groove. Sometimes we were a bit rushed, but with our drive we managed to open up their defence and win.
"It was hard for us, we rate our opponents very highly and the win is very important. We're happy because they're a great team and we were able to keep them at bay."
Valverde highlighted his players' ability to settle down and become more effective as the minutes ticked by.
He said: "For me the first 20 minutes of the first half were incredible, the best we've seen in a long time. I thought the team started very well, with an extraordinary tempo and we didn't let Alkmaar breathe.
"Afterwards, as the match progressed, that same intention we have to always attack sometime betrays us, and there was a moment when we were rushing. We wanted to get into their final third before we were in place.
"At half-time we talked about calming down a bit because we had already had lost possession a lot at the start. We wanted to hold our shape to get more players into their final third. It was really difficult to break them down.
The Zurigorri coach was particularly impressed with the atmosphere at The Cathedral.
"There are now two more games, but a short competition. It means a lot to have four points already," he added.
"We're pleased with what we've done. It puts us in a strong position and above all we're happy to have experienced this night at San Mamés. You could see that the fans were really behind the team."