Jakarta (ANTARA) – Girona coach Michel said that victory against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames Stadium in Week 25 of the Spanish League, Tuesday (20/2) at 03.00 WIB will be very important.
Apart from closing the gap with Real Madrid, who just lost full points when they drew against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday (18/2), the victory will also make Girona’s target of finishing in the top four and playing in the Champions League (UCL) next season even more wide open. .
“If we win in Bilbao, the goal of the Champions League will be closer,” said Michel, quoted from the club’s official website, Monday.
Michel is aware that the match against Ernesto Valverde’s troops will not be easy because Bilbao are known to be very sharp when playing at San Mames.
From 12 home matches in the Spanish League this season, they have scored 31 goals or the second most after Atletico Madrid who scored 32 goals.
“This is a team that scores more goals at home, they steal a lot of balls in the opposition half, they press a lot, you have few options to score goals, they can beat you, they have pace. And they also have the perfect coach for them ,” said the 48-year-old coach.
However, despite this, Michel said his team was not afraid at all. Even though the home team made things difficult, he emphasized that Blanquivermells also had a deadly weapon to sting Los Leones back.
“We have to compete and get our best version. Athletic can hurt us, that’s true, but so can we. We know the difficulties we will face at San Mamés,” said Michel.
Ahead of the match, Girona is in second place in the standings with 56 points, six points different from Real Madrid who are at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, Bilbao is in fifth place with 46 points.