Barcelona’s Ernesto Valverde Defeats Old Club, Athletic Bilbao

Sergio Busquets has said Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao is down to only Marc-Andre ter Stegen after the German international made a number of fine stops to prevent the opponent from scoring.

“The truth is we struggled a lot, especially in the second-half,” Busquets told Movistar after the game.

“They had chances to equalise, but with a counter-attack at the end we scored the second, which leaves us with this spectacular start.

“A large part of the win belongs to [Ter Stegen], he’s at a great level. He was key in making sure we won the game.

“We’re happy to have him with us and once again he was decisive in those big moments because the first [save] was at 0-0 and the second was at 1-0 in the final minutes, which would have led to a draw.”

It was not an easy night for Barca coach Ernesto Valverde, who was seated in the visiting dugout at San Mames for the first time since leaving Athletic for Camp Nou in the summer.

“To be honest, it was a little stranger than I thought, before and during the game,” Valverde said in his post-game news conference.

“It’s been a different day, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s a new stadium and to have the fans willing on the other team. It was difficult.

“You’re not used to the feeling that [the supporters] are pushing on the opposition, but that’s how it is and you have to go through it.

“Now I can chat to all the familiar faces, which I didn’t want to do before because that’s not why we’re here. But now, after the game, it’s a bit more relaxed and we can catch up.”