GARCÍA PIMIENTA: "AFTER THE WIN LAST WEEK, TODAY WE COULDN'T BUILD ON IT"

Xavi García Pimienta could not hide his disappointment after our defeat against Athletic Club: "Today was not our best game. We have not been good. It's true that Athletic, except for the penalty, didn't cause us too many problems. We were a bit nervous on the ball at the start and we didn't win our duels. We were predictable and didn't generate anything, especially in the first half. In the second half, without being brilliant, we did create some chances. Ejuke had a great chance right at the start of the second half. We then had a few more attacks but we weren't playing well. If you don't play well against a team like Athletic it is difficult. They could have scored and had a penalty saved. In the end, we defended a free kick very poorly and gave them the chance to score. It's a shame because after the win last week, today we couldn't build on it." 

Our head coach highlighted the team's lack of precision, especially in the first half, and how that affected the ability to generate clear chances: “We lacked accuracy and couldn't create chances. In the first half, we were very bad. It wasn't a matter of attitude, but we weren't accurate. In the second half, it was easy to improve on what we had done, but without Athletic generating too many chances, they were quite comfortable because it was a predictable game on our part. It's a pity because we should have drawn if we couldn't win, but today we didn't play well." 

With an international break now before El Gran Derbi, Pimienta is aware of the challenges ahead: "We now have 15 days until our next game with the international break with many of our players away with their countries. Let's hope the comeback fit because we will be without Sow Sow and Agoumé after they picked up yellow cards. It's a special match as we all know and we have to do our best to get the three points."