Valverde: “It was a perfect match"

Ernesto Valverde admitted that his players desperately needed a victory like their 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday night, praising his side for their "perfect" performance.

Athletic dominated the fixture, putting Jan Oblak under constant pressure, and they got their reward in the 85th minute when Alex Berenguer scored a left-footed stunner.

"We wanted to produce a display like this," the gaffer said at his post-match press conference.

"We played with intensity and we knew winning was a must for us. We needed to feel like we were back on track and today we did that from the very beginning.

"It was a perfect match. We kept pushing and it went our way.”

The boss commended his players for the way they bounced back from Wednesday's defeat against Real Madrid.

He said: "We needed a victory here at San Mamés, for our fans. We've been on a losing streak and, despite the injuries we have, we played a great game and we want this victory to give us momentum."

Valverde is hopeful the win over Atletico will be "a turning point" for his squad as he looked forward to next week's Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain in Bilbao.

He continued: "If we continue with this intensity, we know that many matches will go our way. We always seek results through our performances."