Valverde: “We have done everything well”

Ernesto Valverde was satisfied with the match played by his team, but not with the result. “This is a game that we are going to win from the beginning. If we get rid of everything now and we don’t see the goals, anyone will think we won. It was a good game on our part, but we were not successful at the end. We think of punishments as the lesser evil. It’s a game, it’s about getting it right and not being hit by the opponent. It happened to us along the way. We also have to recognize that they have done a great defensive job”, pointed out the coach.

“We did almost everything well. We were a little short of success to win. This is my impression. It was a worthy match of our team. We are a team that takes risks and plays attacking. They have achieved success that we lack. Today the locker room was held. It is logical. It will happen in a few days, we have to focus on the League”, he added.

The Gasteiztarra coach stated that his team managed the match very well: “If we had scored a goal, we managed it better. We would have liked to score. They played their game and we played ours.”

Txingurri once again recognized that his team needed to create more chances to score goals. “It’s true. We have developed a lot, today we did it. We are powerful in defense. In Pamplona they scored a goal against us. Today is a game with more games. We have those to come but we lack a pinch of victory which is necessary. Today the results are not with us, neither in the League nor today against Osasuna. We are sorry that we did not reach the final, especially because of the fans, who deserve it more than anyone. This is the having mental composure at the last moment to cope well and overcome these situations”, he said.

Valverde thought about the semifinal played against Betis in 2005, when his Athletic was better and fell in a penalty shootout: “I thought about it at several points. That was also in San Mamés and after a good game like today”, he concluded.