Athletic Bilbao is already seeing its chances in the Champions League slip away after the second match day. The 1-4 defeat in Dortmund had a significant impact on Ernesto Valverde’s team.
Bilbao had put up a good fight at times in their 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in their opening Champions League match. In Dortmund, only a completely unnecessary slapstick moment from Niklas Süle provided any excitement, which BVB should not have allowed to happen in the first place.
In the end, it was a deserved 4-1 win for the Bundesliga side, which meant a sixth consecutive competitive game without a win for the Basques. “We had a strong opponent who didn’t forgive us for our mistakes,” said Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde after the final whistle: “We were too sluggish in the first half.”
When asked about the hosts’ dominance, especially in the first half, the former FC Barcelona coach, who is gradually coming under pressure in Bilbao, simply said: “I am aware that I come to this stadium and cannot dominate all the time. We are newcomers to the Champions League and had difficulties getting forward.”
“We have to make sure that the Champions League doesn’t hurt us.”
The results in the Champions League may not please anyone in Bilbao, but we don’t want to leave any room for doubt. Efficiency was one of Valverde’s talking points: “We have to try to be more decisive in the phases where we dominate. They scored goals from a few mistakes on our part.” That made the difference in the end.
The performances on the European stage don’t really make everyday life in La Liga any easier. “We have to make sure that the Champions League doesn’t hurt us,” emphasized Valverde, who felt his team was “a bit dazed” by the four goals they conceded.
The home game against second-to-last Mallorca this weekend must be won in order to keep up with the leaders. “We have to pick ourselves up again, La Liga is just around the corner and Saturday’s game is very important for us,” Valverde made clear.
Two young players who are pushing their way up from Bilbao’s legendary talent factory provided some rays of hope: Alejandro Rego (22) played the entire game in only his fifth professional competitive match at Signal Iduna Park, while Ibon Sanchez (21) came off the bench ten minutes before the end to make his very first appearance for the first team. Valverde gave both players special praise, but even that couldn’t hide the team’s precarious situation.