Inside Athletic

Athletic Club earned one point in their opening match of the Europa League group stage on Thursday. The Lions dominated the first half against Hertha Berlin in Germany, but the home side was able to control the second half. In the end neither team was able to find the back of the net and Athletic will view this as a good result against the strongest opponent in the group. After the game, Mikel Vesga and Xabi Etxeita gave their thoughts on the game, both saying that they are satisfied with the draw. Here is what they had to say:

Mikel Vesga

“It is a good point away from home against a tough opponent, the best in the group. During the first half hour we played great football and created chances. In the second half they were able to take more control and play their style of football. They moved the ball very fast and put us in importation situations where Iago [Herrerín] had to make good saves. The point today is good. We came with the goal of winning, but that did not happen.”

Xabi Etxeita

“I think we were superior in the first half, especially in the first 30 minutes. We had chances to go ahead, but we did not score a goal to give us peace of mind. In the second half we struggled to get plugged in like them. They were doing all the danger and we didn’t play as well as we should have, but they did not score on their chances so we managed to keep the score at zero. The draw is fair and we shouldn’t take it as a bad thing. We played away from home against supposedly the most difficult rival in the group and now they will have to play in the San Mamés. Now we have to change quickly and think about Las Palmas this weekend. If we get a good result it would be very important for us.”