Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde has admitted that he is wary of the damage that Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers can pose to his team when they meet in the second leg of their quarterfinal clash in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Athletic Bilbao welcome the Gers to the Estadio San Mames on Thursday, as both teams vie for a ticket to the semifinal of the Europa League. They played out a goalless draw in the first leg of the tie, which was played at the Ibrox Stadium last week.
However, it was quite an eventful game, and the scoreline did not reflect the gameplay. Athletic Bilbao dominated play and registered 19 goal attempts as opposed to Rangers' four.
Dessers got limited looks at goal, and he had to be hauled off in the 85th minute for Igamane. But despite that dominance in the first leg, coach Valverde still believes Dessers could do some damage to his team if they do not defend well.
“Dessers is permanently running you into space. He is a reference player, but in counter situations, he is dangerous. Their players from outside deploy very well: Tavernier, Jefté, Yilmaz… And then they have Cerny, who is a bullet and very precise when it comes to defining,” Valverde said.
Can Cyriel Dessers help Rangers beat Athletic Bilbao?
A it is, Rangers have a tough battle ahead of them at San Mames. Les Leones have not lost a home game since mid-January when they lost to Osasuna. They also have a very quick and tricky forward line that has players like Oihan Sancet, Inaki Williams and Nico Williams, so the defenders will have a busy day in their hands.
As is normal with most top Spanish clubs, they are good at keeping the ball, so Cyriel Dessers will not get a lot of chances in the final third. So he has to utilize the scraps and pieces he will get.
Athletic Bilbao are odds-on favourites, but if the Gers present their A-game, they could surprise them.
