Athletic Bilbao vs Slovan Bratislava preview - Bielsa wants more

Posted Sunday, September 18, 2011 by PA

Marcelo Bielsa is not yet happy with his Athletic Bilbao side despite their first win of the season on Thursday night.

A 2-1 Europa League success against Slovan Bratislava followed an opening pair of Primera Division matches, against Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol, from which Athletic took just one point.

They also drew 0-0 with Trabzonspor in the first leg of their play-off round in Europe, before their Turkish opponents were promoted to the Champions League following compatriots Fenerbahce's exclusion amid a match-fixing investigation.

And Bielsa said: "This victory interrupts a pattern of not winning against sides who we have shown ourselves to be better than. This is good but we will see the real effects on Sunday. The hope and expectation is that this could be a turning point.

"I can't be positive (about the start to the season) but there have been good moments in all the matches so far. We have to produce better performances.

"Whether or not we deserved to win, the reality is that we have drawn two matches and lost one against opponents that theoretically we should beat."

Athletic will also be without Ander Herrera for six to eight weeks after the midfielder ruptured his meniscus.

Real Betis, by contrast, have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and sit in third place with two wins from two games - but the match-winner in both 1-0 victories over Granada and Mallorca, Ruben Castro, will be out for a month with an ankle injury.

Castro's injury could pave the way for Roque Santa Cruz to make his first start for the club but manager Pepe Mel is wary that the striker may not be fully match-ready.

"He is not ready for 90 minutes, we know that," he said. "He is dynamic and quick and we will get him into shape. He hasn't come to Betis to play just now but over the next 10 months and we have to sensible with how we use him."

Mel does not believe Athletic will suffer any after-effects from playing in midweek.

"They are a good team," he said. "Against Rayo they were poor but against Espanyol they deserved to win and lost.

"On Thursday they had a relatively comfortable match. They dominated from the start and I sincerely don't think playing in Europe will affect how they play on Sunday."