“Now we know we can compete with anyone”

Athletic visits Sevilla on Sunday (6:30 pm) in the last competition match of the year 2023. The red and white team come to the event motivated after their important victory against Levante in Lezama, but the Sevilla team pulled off a big surprise on the final day beating Real Madrid at Valdebebas and winning four games in a row. “We are two teams that come with a very positive dynamic. They come from four consecutive wins with a victory away from home in a field as difficult as Madrid. Logically we expect a difficult match, because it cannot be otherwise. It will be a match where we will have more ability to have the ball than in the last matches. We have to defend ourselves against their weaknesses. “They have already shown against Real Madrid that they can hurt you when you lose the ball,” he said. David Aznar in Lezama.

The Talavera de la Reina coach wants to end the year well. Sevilla, ranked sixth, has only three points ahead of the red and white team. A win before the Christmas break would go a long way. “Without a doubt, it will be a vacation in a very good place, knowing that we have done our homework in the first round. A first round above all to establish ourselves in the competition. This team, which is new still and very young, are starting to gain confidence in every game. We have reached the first goal, we know we can compete with anyone. After the holidays we will come with the mentality of competing every seven days, that is the difference between the team fighting for something different. The mentality starting in January is to be stronger at home and away and not win every fortnight but every seven. It’s a tough, good challenge, but I see the players who ready to achieve it,” he added.

The victory against Levante was an important morale booster: “It’s a match that makes us look clearer on the path we’re on. The goal of this project is that in the medium and long term we can compete for positions in the Champions League, compete with the top teams. Beating them is an important step. The team has matured a lot in the first round and above all I give a lot of value to these last games (Valencia and Levante) where we won in difficulty. It’s not anymore: we started the game well and won and we started badly and lost. The team matured and scored points in difficult areas. “We have that capacity.”

The coach is satisfied with this season of competition even though the team is very young and the coaching staff is new. “The relationship between the players and the staff is very positive, the atmosphere is very good and the locker room is incredible. All this makes things faster than anywhere else. I experienced the feeling of the gang they said “I am very happy to be here, I see the team with the capacity to do many more things in the future,” he stated.