It was a 0-0 stalemate at the San Mames as Athletic Bilbao and Spartak Prague were unable to break the deadlock in their Europa League encounter.
Athletic Bilbao were already out of the Europa League and it was the perfect chance for their boss, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcelo-c23554 Bielsa, to field youngsters and fringe players.
For much of the game, it was Bilbao who enjoyed possession of the ball. However, majority of the chances were created by the visitors as Jiri Skalak hit the post in the first-half.
Right after the second-half, Skalak again aimed another wild shot on the Bilbao goal and it went over the bar.
Athletic’s best chance came when Erik Moran hit the woodwork in the later stages of the match.
The Czech side created chances after chances, but none of their efforts could break the standoff at the San Mames and that is how the game finished.
Meanwhile, the under-fire Bilbao forward, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fernando-Llorente-c13671, was subjected to whistles during the match and his boss is now urging him to cope with the situation.
The Argentine coach substituted Llorente at half-time and said his decision to withdraw the 27-year-old from the match had nothing to do with the whistles.
"I did not take Llorente off because of the whistles," Bielsa was quoted by
Marca.
The 57-year-old stated that the taunts against Llorente by the club fans have happened before and they are more likely to continue in the future. Therefore, he is urging the Spaniard to get used to them and continue with his life.
"But, Llorente has to take them. This situation has already occurred a couple of times this season so he has to just get on with it.”
Finally, Bielsa feels that it is an unfortunate thing what his striker is facing at the moment. However, he thinks the whistles will keep coming in the near future.
“Unfortunately, it happened again today and it will most likely happen again in the future."
The Basque-based club is now officially out of the Europa League and their lack of involvement in the competition might be a blessing in disguise for them.
Maybe the club will now focus all of their attention and energy on the Primera Division, where they have not been performing as they should be.
Tags: