Ernesto Valverde: “It was close until the end”
Athletic Club coach Ernesto Valverde and Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti are present during the La Liga 2024/25 match between Real Madrid and Athletic Club at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, on April 20.
Athletic Club manager Ernesto Valverde offered a measured and realistic assessment of his team’s 1-0 loss at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday night, praising Real Madrid’s quality while pointing to fixture congestion and missed offensive clarity as key factors in the narrow defeat.
Valverde’s side, fresh off a Thursday fixture, arrived in Madrid with a conservative game plan: stay compact, keep the game within reach, and strike when possible. For much of the evening, they executed that vision, especially in the first half.
“It was clear that we had to play our game, knowi...
