Valverde finds positives as Athletic battle for Sadar point
Athletic Club manager reflects on his side's fighting spirit after coming from behind to secure a draw against Osasuna, closing the first half of the season on 24 points.
Athletic Club’s gaffer Ernesto Valverde struck a balanced tone after his side scrapped to a 1-1 draw at El Sadar, admitting they’ve got work to do in the second half of the season.
First half struggles, second half push
The Lions found themselves on the back foot in the opening exchanges, with Osasuna creating the clearer chances. Once the hosts went ahead, Athletic began to show more attacking intent, with Valverde explaining his game plan evolved as the match wore on.
“Our idea was that the game wouldn’t stop in the second half and we pushed higher up,” Valverde noted, as his side gradually wrestled some control back from their Navarrese opponents.
Triple substitution gamble
Valverde wasn’t shy about mixing things up when Athletic needed a spark, making a triple change to inject fresh legs and ideas into his team’s performance.
“We needed to shift up a gear,” he explained. “We’d had a double chance, but we wanted to shake things up centrally and out wide.”
The changes paid dividends as Athletic found their equaliser and continued to press for a winner in what Valverde described as “a derby with moments for each team.”
Guruzeta gets his reward
Striker Gorka Guruzeta eventually found the net for Athletic, though not before missing a couple of decent opportunities. Valverde was quick to defend his forward:
“Strikers are judged on accuracy, but the key is whether they’re getting chances at all. I love that he misses chances - his problem would be not having any in a match. Strikers miss more than anyone because they’re the ones in those positions.”
Season assessment and Super Cup ambitions
With 24 points from the first half of the season, Valverde was honest about his team’s standing:
“It’s not a satisfying tally because we have fewer points than we’d like. That’s the reality. It forces us to improve in the second half. We create situations near the opponent’s box, but our finishing needs work.”
Looking ahead to the Spanish Super Cup, Valverde acknowledged Athletic aren’t favourites but insisted they’ll “try to exploit our possibilities” when they face their semi-final opponents.
The result leaves Athletic with work to do, but coming from behind to nick a point at a difficult ground like El Sadar might just give them the confidence boost they need heading into a crucial period.