Athletic Bilbao failed to mark their UEFA Champions League return with a victory when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in their Group H opener on Wednesday.
The contest at Bilbao’s impressive new San Mames Barria was evenly-matched, with both sides creating plenty of chances and the home side perhaps narrowly having the upper hand.
Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz was nonetheless voted man of the match after the 33-year-old denied Darijo Srna in the first half and Douglas Costa in the second to help secure a point for the Basque side.
Photo: AFP
“A draw was a fair result,” Bilbao midfielder Mikel Rico told the UEFA Web site.
“We struggled a bit in the second half and we were unable to get on the end of crosses, but a point is positive,” he said.
“Shakhtar are very quick in attack, they are like bullets. We all wanted to win, but Shakhtar are a great team. They have been playing this way for 15 years,” Rico added.
Photo: EPA
Shakhtar midfielder Taras Stepanenko said his team had “controlled the game in the first half and most of the second.”
“We got one point and didn’t concede, which is the most important,” Stepanenko told UEFA Web site.
“We analyzed them. The coach told us how they would play in attack and we were able to shut them out,” he said.
Bilbao finished fourth in La Liga last season and are making only their second appearance in the Champions League group stage and their first since the 1998-1999 campaign.
The club, coached by their former striker Ernesto Valverde, manage to compete at the highest level, even though they only use players of Basque origin.
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