Valverde warns Atheltic Bilbao of Cyriel Dessers threat ahead of Europa League clash against Rangers

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.