Susaeta backs Athletic to recover

Markel Susaeta believes Athletico Bilbao’s 3-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final will prove to be a valuable experience.

Two goals from Radamel Falcao and Diego’s effort were enough for Atletico to see off their Basque opponents in the final at the Arena Nationali, Bucharest, on May 9.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on silverware, Susaeta is confident Athletic will regroup to concentrate on their Copa de Rey final against Barcelona.

“We took a lot of experience (from losing the Europa League final) and that will help us in the future,” Susaeta told AS.

“We started badly in the league and if we did not doubt ourselves back then, there is no place for doubt now. The team is 100 percent confident, and we have a final coming.”

Barca will be without defenders Dani Alves, Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal for their showdown with Athletic on Friday, but Susaeta feels Pep Guardiola’s team are equipped to cope with the absentees.

“There are a lot of gaps, but (Martin) Montoya, (Gerard) Pique, (Javier) Mascherano and Adriano form a world-class defence,” he said.

“If we have played well all year and we got here, we must maintain this level. This is another type of game, Atletico is different from Barcelona.”

The final will take place at Atletico Madrid’s Estadio Vicente Calderon.