Athletic Club were reduced to ten men in the first half of their 3-0 defeat to Man United in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Athletic Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde was not happy with the red card.(Image: Juanma – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images.)
Athletic Bilbao head coach Ernesto Valverde has said the red card shown to defender Dani Vivian in the first half of his side’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United was too big a punishment.
The Spaniard was given his marching orders with less than ten minutes to go until half-time after pulling Rasmus Hojlund to the turf inside the box and giving away a penalty that led to Bruno Fernandes firing United 2-0 ahead.
Referee Espen Eskas was advised to go to the pitchside monitor following a VAR review and he made the decision to point to the spot before brandishing a red card and dismissing Vivian.
The red card paved the way for United to take control of the game and put one foot in the Europa League final ahead of next week’s semi-final second leg at Old Trafford.
But in the opinion of Valverde, Eskas’ decision to send off the defender was “too much”.
“We protested a previous handball, which I think the referee awarded, the play continued and I thought the penalty was a clearer handball (from Alejandro Garnacho),” said Valverde.
“It was too much punishment – not only for the 0-2, but for playing without Vivian with 10 men.
“The foul on Sannadi was a foul (by Harry Maguire in the second half), but I don’t know if it should have been a red card or not.”
To Bilbao’s credit, they started the game the better and spurned a great chance to take the lead with just 11 minutes on the clock when Inaki Williams missed the target.
Valverde continued: “We didn’t manage the first goal, that tension. And the sending off and the penalty conditioned the game.
“We were good when it was 11 vs 11 and we had chances, but we didn’t score them. When they beat you 0-3 it means that they have been successful and we have not, in the chances we have had.
“These teams like Manchester United are unforgiving, they are very secure in the last stretch. We have to learn from this kind of thing.”
Looking ahead to next week’s second leg at Old Trafford, Valverde has vowed that his side will refuse to “give up” on dragging themselves back into the tie.
“It’s clear that we got a very bad result, but we have to play for the comeback. We are not going to give up on anything knowing that we have a very adverse result.”