Levante coach Paco López was satisfied after the draw at San Mamés in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. “The 1-1 leaves the tie open, but I'm very happy with the team's work and personality,” he said.
“In the first half, the team came out convinced and with the mentality that we are in a Cup semi-final; we wanted to be us. It was important to focus on ourselves, respecting what we had in front of us, which is a great team, ”explained the coach of the 'granota' team at the post-match press conference.
López acknowledged that they knew that in the second half they were going to “suffer” against an Athletic that took “a step forward” and, “to put a but” to his team, he admitted that they lacked “a little continuity” when they recovered the ball.
“But it is to be proud of this team for the involvement, commitment and above all personality to go to this stadium in this way,” he stressed.
Lastly, the Levantine coach stressed the need to “change the chip from tonight” to “put the focus” on next Sunday's league match against Osasuna. “We understand that people wait for the second leg, but we don't. Our head is now on the most important thing, which is the league. March 4 will come ”, he added.