Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde was delighted with their spirit for victory over Real Betis.

Athletic were 0-2 down inside the first 10 minutes, but they went into the break with a 3-2 lead before going onto win 4-2.

"When things become an uphill battle and you manage to turn it around, that's a huge boost for your morale," said Valverde afterwards.

"The next time it happens, you know that you're capable of bouncing back in an adverse situation. I'm not going to deny that it's a plus for the group.

"It was crucial for us to score goals and get three points at San Mames. Especially, bearing in mind that last season we didn't do as well here as we wanted. We want to be strong at our home ground. Everyone knows that when they come here they're in for a tough game."

He added: "They got into the box three times and came away with two goals. When you find yourself trailing in the 10th minute, it's a complicated situation.

"We fought to change it, we pushed forward, we believed, we turned around a difficult situation and were ahead before the break. In the second half we tried be tighter at the back and we took the three points."