Athletic Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde has said that Sporting Gijon made it tough for his team in Monday's La Liga clash at San Mames.

The hosts ran out 3-0 winners in Bilbao courtesy of a double from Aritz Aduriz after Markel Susaeta had opened the scoring.

Valverde has claimed that the comfortable nature of the scoreline was not a fair reflection of the match, with Sporting making it difficult for his team "to get a handle on the game".

"It might seem easy but it's not because [Sporting] set up well. We were afraid of the breaks of Sporting and wanted to play at a high pace and score first. It was difficult to get a handle on the game but when we attacked we did so with danger," Marca quotes Valverde as saying.

"Before the start of play we were 17th. We're now up to 12th and we're closer to the teams above.

"It's been a good game but there wasn't much difference to the others. We're four games unbeaten in the league and the team is on a good line. We played a good game because the match required it and we required a victory."

Bilbao have taken eight points from their last four league matches after losing four of their first five in Spain's top flight.