The final day permutations, almost safe, but...!

 Valencia nearly screwed it up against Espanyol. Despite dominating the first half hour, Valencia as usual were unable to put away good chances and the game went like so many others this season. Eventually, the other team got some half chances and scored.

The English commentator reckoned we were safe. By my calculation we're not. We survive next week in any of the following situations:

1 we get a point
2 Cadiz don't LOSE (away to Elche, there's a very unlikely scenario where Cadiz could still relegate)
3 Valladolid don't win (they are at home to Getafe, who are not safe)
4 Almeria lose (they are away to already relegated Espanyol)
5 Celta don't win (they're at home to Barcelona.)

If we lose and Valladolid win, then there's the possibility of a messy tie on 41 points, which is broken by head-to-head points, then head-to-head goal difference between *ALL* the teams in question. The all is important since, although we win a head-to-head against Getafe, the inclusion of other teams could screw us up.

Here are all the possible head-to-heads involving us and Getafe:

5-WAY
Almeria 16, Cadiz 13, Valencia 10, Getafe 9, Celta 5

4-WAY
Cadiz 11, Valencia 9, Getafe 9, Celta 4
Almeria 14, Valencia 10, Getafe 7, Celta 2
Almeria 12, Cadiz 10, Getafe 5, Valencia 4***

3-WAY
Almeria 10, Valencia 4, Getafe 3
Valencia 9, Getafe 7, Celta 1
Cadiz 8, Getafe 5, Valencia 3***

2-WAY
Valencia 3-3 Getafe (Valencia wins 5-2 on head-to-head goals scored.)

Only the ones with the asterixes relegate us. Oddly, since both of them involve Cadiz, that means we need Cadiz to get a draw or win at Elche. If Cadiz get at least a point, we're guaranteed safety.

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It's really frustrating that we have spent so many months surviving not through our own efforts, but more hoping that other teams will be worse than us and throwing away points in crunch games against virtually every relegation rival. (Celta the only exception since the world cup!) 

So while it's 99% sure we'll survive this season, the prospects for next do not look so good. Mamardashvili has saved us on a number of occasions this season, the mistake tonight aside. With our own attacking players so often toothless, we've relied on the goals of Lino and Kluivert to dig us out of trouble. The continuity of all those 3 at Mestalla is in serious doubt. Losing Guedes and Soler last summer removed our 2 biggest threats and although Almeida looks a solid prospect, he's a season away from fully filling Soler's boots. Apart from him, Gaya, Mamardashvili, Kluivert, Lino and some of the promising canteranos, there are very few guys in this squad I'd shed tears over if they left.

Sadly, I expect another relegation struggle next season even if we do survive on the last day.

Valencia are safe, but have a bigger problem to fix

I decided to wait a few days before writing this blogpost until the situation settled a little bit. Firstly, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. This week should have been a joyous one for Valencia. A first win over Real Madrid in front of our own fans since 2019 (we, of course, beat them due to the Soler penalty hat-trick during Covid.) But not only that: a win which effectively guarantees Valencia’s place in the top flight, which looked seriously under threat.

Of course, what should have been a great week is now one of the worst for our club and the city in ages. The racist idiocy of a few fools has dragged the name of the club and city and fanbase through the mud and tarnished the result. I’ve seen quite a few of our fans giving the other side of the coin: certain players aren’t punished for provocation due to the club they play for, Valencia are being treated harshly compared to other clubs etc etc. Those views have merit but there is a time and place for such discussions and NOW IS NOT THE TIME. Our focus should be on one thing and one thing only: any racist in our fanbase, in our stadium or near our stadium is one racist too many. It doesn’t matter what provocations, true or not, happen. Abusing any player on the grounds of race, nationality, religion, sexuality etc is 100% unacceptable. It is wrong. Full stop.

Now, as far as what’s been done, that only goes part of the way. There should a zero tolerance policy to it. It shouldn’t have to get to the point where protocols are enacted and games paused. Ground security should immediately eject any offenders and they should be banned. A tough example would cut this out.

“But it was only a handful of people in the stadium! Our fans are no worse than others” I’ve been in Mestalla enough times to know this is true, but there were a group outside the stadium chanting racist slogans. Those people are banned, rightly from the stadium, but they’re still allowed to crawl around outside, engaging in abuse which sometimes veers into bigotry and damaging our reputation. It’s on the police to deal with them, so Valencia need to liaise with local authorities and tell them in no uncertain terms that their payment for policing also includes keeping these fools from gathering and arresting them if they do gather and break into racist chants. Do these clowns not see that we have Diakhaby, that we have Musah, that we have Thierry, that we have Kluivert and Moriba etc?

Finally, our fans in and around the stadium need to make it clear through banners and counter protests, that these Yomus groups are not welcome. We can easily criticise wider authorities for not doing enough to deal with the problem but we should set a proactive example.

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Let’s move on to the positive that we would have been talking about if all that hadn’t happened. Valencia are now effectively safe. I’ve been looking at the table and the remaining games and I believe that even if we lost the 3 remaining games we’d still stay up as it would take a very unlikely combination of results to relegate us.

As things stand, we are ahead of Celta, Cadiz, Almeria, Valladolid, Getafe and Espanyol and 2 of those 7, including us, could go down.

If level on points, we have the better head-to-head against Celta and Getafe and effectively Valladolid due to goal difference. We drew with Espanyol earlier in the season so the head-to-head depends on that. Cadiz and Almeria will finish above us if we’re level on points.

Let’s take the worst case scenario. We lose all 3 remaining games. The other teams then get perfect results, all winning, against teams not in the relegation fight. So the teams in capital letters win

Villarreal – CADIZ
Elche – CADIZ
Betis – GETAFE
CELTA – Barcelona
ESPANYOL – Atletico Madrid

Just to start with, I think all those results happening are very, very unlikely, but if anyone disagrees, I’m sure there’s a bookmaker who’ll happily give you good odds. (You’ll lose your money.)

However, that situation would leave La Liga as:

Cadiz 44
Celta 43
Getafe 41
Espanyol 40
Valencia 40
Almeria 39
Valladolid 38
(bottom two go down)

So that’s the situation if we lose and all other teams get perfect results. We’d still not be in a relegation position. There would be remaining games not included above:

Cadiz vs Celta,
Almeria vs Valladolid,
Espanyol vs Almeria,
Valladolid vs Getafe

Almeria-Valladolid would be key.
If there was a draw or Almeria won Valladolid would need to beat Getafe on the last day.
If Valladolid won, Almeria would need to win away at Espanyol on the last day.
In both those cases, Getafe and Espanyol would also be fighting for survival, so wouldn’t lose easily.

So I think even on 40 points and no more wins, we’re safe.
---------------------------------------------

Staying up when confirmed leads us into the familiar discussions of the manager and transfer window, usually disappointing though they are. Baraja has stepped up to the plate and delivered the safety he was hired for. Should he stay on? I’m on the fence. I certainly think we can do better but there’s the problem of who would come to Valencia now with all the instability (and this week’s controversy doesn’t help either.) On the other hand, he’s shaken things up, given the academy players a chance and they’ve delivered. It would also look bad to reward him for saving us by firing him.

Let’s hope for a win at Mallorca to end this nasty week on a more positive note.

Valencia CF 0-1 Cadiz Match Report

What a bad start to the second half of the season and to the new year, with back to back loses for Valencia CF. This team can be so frustrating to watch sometimes, as we can often lose even against the worst opposition with the worst stats in La Liga, but then two matches down the line we manage to beat a Real Madrid or a Barcelona. 

Just 8 minutes into the game and Valencia CF was already losing at home against one of the worst teams in La Liga with one of the lowest scoring records in the league. Someone needs to explain this to me as I just don't get it.

Valencia CF started attacking from the get-go with them controlling possession and looking to go forward and attack, but this also left spaces at the back and opportunities for Cadiz to counterattack. This is exactly how Cadiz managed to take the lead, as they intercepted a pass from Valencia CF, passed the ball to R. Sobrino who ran from his side's own third to Valencia's own third, managed to outrun and get past Ilaix Moriba and assisted the ball to R. Alcaraz who was just outside of the penalty area, took a long range shot and managed to score. 

Valencia CF 0-1 Cadiz CF

As the game progressed Valencia CF controlled most of the possession at around 75% percent, but most of it was in our own third, just passing the ball in circles, instead of forward and when they did manage to pass forward it was often blocked or intercepted by the opposition. Hugo Guiliamon was the most responsible for this as time and time again he passed inaccurately and straight into the opposition players, no forced errors or anything of the sort, just terrible passing. 

The best Valencia CF came to scoring in the first half was a claim for penalty, other than that it was mostly ineffective attacks with no finish. 

Gennaro Gattuso decided to change things up for the second half and introduced Andre Almeida for Hugo Guillamon and Justin Kluivert for Ilaix Moriba. An obvious and right decision, considering they were the weakest link in the squad. Hugo misplaced so many passes and put Valencia CF in bad situations and Ilaix was just completely ineffective in doing anything, the game passed by him as he was a spectator.

The changes brought some much-needed energy and urgency in Valencia's play, with Almeida doing a much better job in bringing the ball forward and spreading it around with precision! Its baffling since stats wise Hugo Guillamon is one of Valencia's most accurate passers with a high rate of passing, but tonight most of his passes were inaccurate and back to the defense. 

Valencia CF did play much better in the second half as a result and created more opportunities and chances, forcing Jeremias Ledesma to react and save his team on few occasions. While the effort was there, and more chances were created it just wasn't quality enough. There were barely any goal scoring opportunities, with most of the threat towards Cadiz goal being from low probability opportunistic shots, rather than clear cut goalscoring opportunities. 

The best chance for Valencia CF was probably Gaya's long range effort on goal that was saved by their goalkeeper. Valencia CF also had few claims for a penalty, but the referee wasn't having it and wasn't going to serve them a goal opportunity on a platter. The claims were realistically farfetched, and most referees wouldn't entertain them! 

Player Ratings:

Giorgi 6 - Questionable positioning for the goal, seemed a bit out of position and thus couldn't quite reach the ball, but barely at fault here. Had few other saves that make up for that suspect positioning.

Correia 5.5 - Defense wise it was an okay performance but going forward he was lackluster and scrambled few good opportunities. Overall, not an impressive performance.

Diakhaby 6 - It was an average performance by his standards, industrial performance with few clumsy moments, classic Diakhaby stuff.

Comert 6 - Not a great defensive showing considering he was playing against one of the weakest attacking teams but did not make any sort of big mistakes.

Gaya 7 - He was mostly absent in defense, but he was always on the other side of the field and attacking. Most of the attacks came through him and he had the best chance of the night to score. 

Yunus Musah 6 - Better than the other two midfielders in the first half, but that is not saying much. He was mostly accurate with his passes and did try to create something on that right flank but was hardly effective and didn't cause Cadiz many problems!

Hugo Guillamon 3 - One of the worst performances I've seen from him, inexplicable passing errors and lazy mundane passing. He was also lackluster in tracking opposing players and breaking up their play.

Illaix Moriba 3 - Possibly the guiltiest player for the goal, got overrun so easily, but he could have made a foul and stop the attack, back in the days an Albelda or Topal or Fuego type if they lost the duel, they would foul out the opposing player to prevent a dangerous counterattack. 

Samu Castellijo 5.5 - Was lively during his time on the pitch and had some good movement and dribbles but was unable to make a difference.

Edinson Cavani 5 - Not given much to play with, had few penalty claims and arguments with the opposing players, but did not contribute much to this match and was left without any goal scoring chances. Not to blame, but clearly not a game in which he can be a threat! 

Lino 6 - Combined well with Gaya on the left flank and was generally very active in attack, had some good movements and passes, but like the whole team he just could not muster up an end product.

Subs:

Andre Almeida 7 - Justified substitution as he brough in better quality over Hugo and was key in moving the ball forward and spreading it around with precision. He has good playmaking abilities and seems to have huge potential for the future. I was impressed by his performance even if VCF lost and overall played poorly.

Justin Kluivert 6 - An upgrade over Illaix Moriba as he was much snappier and often run channels, something we lacked before his introduction, but like all others was unable to provide something concrete, to really change the course of the match. Decent effort but fell short. 

Hugo Duro 5.5 - Came on for the injured Samu and played decently, I liked his energy and combativeness, he wants to win, he wants to do good, so points for that, but in terms of finding himself in goal scoring positions or providing the key pass he was lacking.

Foulquier N/A - Not enough time 

Valencia - Betis match thread

Apologies for such a short thread. Valencia's last game before the World Cup break sees a chance of revenge for the cup final in a tough game against high flying Betis. It's also a chance for us to break a run of negative results.

There are some variations in the line-up due to injuries, with Hugo Duro finally getting his chance up front, an all-Turkish centre back pairing of Comert and Cenk in defence for the first time and Castillejo finally starting after weeks of absence. The absence of Borja Iglesias gives us hope but goals, not possession, are needed to reverse the negative run.

==FULL TIME/SEASON BREAK==
Valencia finally turn possession into points with a solid win. The team played well in the first half albeit without creating many chances. I thought this may have ended one of those games where we did well in 1st half but went in with nothing to show and then blew it in the 2nd, luckily it wasn't to be. The turning point was the sending off of Edgar for 2 clear yellow cards. The first could even have been a straight red. Almeida hit a great free kick to open up the scoring. The penalty we got was dubious, I thought, but Guillamon placed it well and then Kluivert, put through one on one as in a previous game showed great finishing instincts. I do wonder if he's wasted on the wing? He's very dangerous around the box.

The 2 guys who really made a difference today were Castillejo and Almeida. The 1st is always a busy presence on the right, passing and recovering the ball well and he came close to scoring in the 1st half. Almeida is steadily growing into the number 10 role vacated by Soler and has shown signs of being a solid replacement. 

So Valencia go into the break on 19 points and 10th place. It could easily have been 3 to 5 more which would have put us in European places. The team needs stronger second half and late game performances. Maybe a change of formation to 4-4-2 might work in some games? People like Duro, Kluivert and Marcos Andre would do better with Cavani to play off. Work to do in the 2nd part of the season but it's not a lost cause.

I'll try and put some posts up in the coming weeks. Enjoy the world cup!

Real Sociedad - Valencia match thread

 Valencia come into this game after a mostly poor run of results, with just 1 win in the last six and disappointing outcomes against Elche, Mallorca, Sevilla and Barcelona in the last 4.

It's Anoeta tomorrow, a ground which sounds intimidating but is actually a place where we've had good results in recent times. In the previous 5 seasons, we've won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1. A very good return for such an away fixture. Sociedad have also hit their own mini-slump, losing their last 2 league games in Valladolid and at home to Betis. 

Valencia mostly have a full squad to draw on with longer term absentees Jaume, Diakhaby and Ilaix unavailable. The big question mark is over Cavani, with Andre likely to start instead. 

HALF-TIME 

Valencia went behind to a comical goal. 1st Thierry slipped while in possession. Sociedad still had work to do but Guillamon did it for them sticking out a leg to deflect it past Mamardashvili. 5 minutes later Sociedad had a man sent off for a dangerous foul and that tilted the balance with Lino scoring, nutmegging 2 guys with his shot. Despite the man advantage it's an even game with Sociedad coming closest to scoring.

FULL-TIME
1-1. Really negative emotions. Same vibes as the Sevilla game. Before the season I'd have happily taken a point from this one but in the end feels more like a defeat. To have a man advantage for 75 minutes and 64% possession but look at best equal is not acceptable. If anything it was Sociedad who looked likeliest to win despite only having 10 men. We got a little better when Castillejo and Duro came on, but not good enough. 

Valencia - Barcelona match thread

 After a positive start, it's gone a little sour for Valencia in recent games. Unfortunately, tomorrow brings up one of Valencia's traditionally most difficult opponent in the Mestalla: FC Barcelona. While we did of course beat them in the Copa final of 2019, our home record against them has been dismal. In the last 15 seasons, Valencia has managed only one win, in January 2020 under Celades, when a Maxi Gomez double gave us a 2-0 win. Other than that, we've drawn 6 and lost 8.

Diakhaby's injury last time turned out to be more serious, and he's out till January, although the world cup gap makes that less serious. After being injured the previous week, Comert has been back in training and Cenk was one of the bright spots last game. Castillejo has been back in training, but it's unclear if he's fit enough yet. It's the midfield where Gattuso has a huge headache. Ilaix also got injured for a month, which means till after the world cup. Musah is suspended due to yellow card accumulation and Nico can't play against Barcelona due to a "fear clause" in his loan agreement. I think it's unlikely Gattuso will throw a youth player in at the deep end in such a big game so he'll probably play someone else there. I'd expect Foulquier. Another option would be to switch to 4-4-2, but my money is on the Foulquier option. Most likely: Mamardashvili, Thierry, Comert, Paulista, Gaya; Almeida, Guillamon, Foulquier; Lino, Cavani, Kluivert.

Barcelona lost yet again to Bayern in midweek but they've otherwise been playing well so unfortunately I will be surprised to get anything from this game.

Before the game there will be an homage

to David Villa, Valencia's 4th best striker of all time.

Valencia - Mallorca match thread

 After a couple of disappointing games Valencia come into this game hoping for a win.

Our opponents Mallorca have had an even worse run. with just 1 point and 1 goal from the last 4 games and that goal against bottom club Elche. Indeed, goals have been a problem for them, with just 7 in the 10 games so far, a poor record only beaten by the bottom 2, Elche and Cadiz. 

For Valencia, only Jaume and Castillejo are unavailable. The second is expected to be back in the next few weeks. In the last game, Foulquier was the main novelty, used as a right midfielder and extra cover on that side, but I'd expect Kluivert to be back instead. Probably a line-up like Mamardashvili, Gaya, Comert, Diakhaby, Thierry; Almeida, Guillamon, Ilaix; Lino, Cavani, Kluivert is most likely with variations in the midfield three possible. In training Gattuso tested a line-up of the above but with Paulista instead of Diakhaby, Yunus instead of Ilaix and Fran Perez instead of Lino. 

I'm going to Mestalla for this game which means updates will be scarce. By chance this is the 3rd time I've seen this fixture. The previous 2 had the same result. In the Emery era, we blew a 2-goal lead to draw 2-2. Last season saw Kang-In sent off on his return to Mestalla, Mallorca get a 2-goal lead before 93rd and 98th minute goals from Guedes and Gaya salvaged a point. I'm hoping for 3rd time lucky, with a Valencia win.

Sevilla - Valencia match thread

As so often happens, Valencia, after getting us excited with a couple of decent results, messes up against a weak relegation candidate. The team really showed their inexperience in the second half and the main message is that, as with recent seasons, there isn't much depth in the squad to turn things round when they're not going right.

Next up is one of several tough games we face in the coming month, Sevilla away. For several seasons, Valencia had the measure of Sevilla, but that changed when Marcelino was fired and since then, results against them have been awful. In the last 3 seasons we have 2 draws and 5 defeats, including a Copa elimination. Last season's game in Seville was eventful for the wrong reasons with Valencia 3-0 down after 22 minutes and two of the goals due to mistakes by Mamardashvili who was dropped for 4 months after the game.

Sevilla have had an awful start to the season which saw them in relegation places and led to the sacking of Lopetegui and his replacement by Jorge Sampaoli who returns for his second spell. Under him, results have improved, a battling draw with Bilbao was followed by another in Dortmund where they were unlucky not to win, before a credible win in Mallorca last game. He's known for his attacking style, using a high defensive line, so this should be an interesting match-up.

For Valencia, both Diakhaby and Marcos Andre are available again after suspensions. Cavani's injury last time doesn't seem too serious and he should be available, however Guillamon and Castillejo remain in doubt.

In other Valencia news, Gaya's contract extension is reported to happen this week. The club also wants to renew Diakhaby but that looks unlikely to happen as he looks to be holding out for a move as a free agent in the summer. Lato has also attracted the interest of Bologna and Ajax.

More on the Sevilla game to follow tomorrow.

====
Update: Both Cavani and Guillamon trained with the team, so both may be available, though whether Gattuso risks Hugo is another question. 
====

Unfortunately, due to work I'm going to miss most of this game but good news is we're ahead through a Cavani goal.

I only caught the last 30 minutes and wish I hadn't. Second game in a row we've been poor in the 2nd half. Could have stolen it at the end but the Gaya penalty was awful. If it hadn't been for the penalty I'd have been relieved to get the point. I hate Sevilla.

Valencia - Elche match thread

 Valencia come into this game in a very positive frame of mind. A good and deserved win at Osasuna last time out has created a mood of optimism. The team has, for possibly the first time in a few seasons, been fun to watch, with direct attacking football. Numerous news stories have suggested the renewal of Gaya, until 2028, is imminent. Following the renewal of Guillamon, this would be great, leaving a solid base to build a team around.

The opponents are also at a low point. Elche have managed a dismal 2 points from their opening 8 games, conceding 19 goals, the highest in the division, and having the second worst scoring record with just 4 goals scored. Valencia's defenders have actually scored more (5 goals) ! So, on paper, an easy game. The emphasis being on "on paper" because this is a regional derby and Valencia have often messed up such easy games in the past. Valencia's run of fixtures after that is very tough with Mallorca, Betis and Barcelona at home and Sevilla, Sociedad and Villarreal away, so I'm hopeful of a solid win tomorrow.

In team news, Castillejo is still injured. Guillamon sounds doubtful so either Musah or Nico will start instead. There have been news stories this week that Barcelona would like to cut the loan short in January as they're unhappy with his limited playing time, however that isn't something they can do unilaterally under the contract. Diakhaby and Marcos Andre are suspended.

I'll post more closer to the time. 

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No surprises at all in the line-up. With Guillamon doubtful the only question was which of the midfield 4 would not start and it's Ilaix on the bench with Nico returning to the line-up.

In the ideal world, a 2- or 3-goal win would be golden.

HALF-TIME 

A weird slightly frustrating first half. Apart from an early corner, Elche did nothing. The first 25 minutes were all Valencia but somehow we failed to score. Almeida, Gaya and Comert all had decent chances which somehow failed to trouble the keeper too much. A rare Elche attack gained a free kick. Mamardashvilu came out to punch but it was their player (who left on a stretcher) not the ball. He got a hand to the penalty but we found ourselves 1 down. 12 minutes later Gaya was brought down and Cavani comfortably equalised with the penalty for his 1st goal. Deep into injury time he headed home a cross. Hat-trick upcoming? Elche had set out to park the bus so will be interesting to see how they approach next 45.

65 minutes: just rubbish. We've been clumsy in passing and wasteful in possession and are punished. Poor from defence and keeper as Elche equalise. Totally don't understand why Cavani was taken off at half time either

72: Elche ahead? No they're  not. Valencia lazy in possession and the ref whistles for a foul when he should have played advantage. Elche furious and I don't blame them. Terrible refereeing. Awful from Valencia who could lose this.

FINAL: 2-2. Very poor result in a game we dominated for long periods.

Espanyol - Valencia match thread

 After a solid win over Celta 2 weeks ago, Valencia come into this game with the age old question of whether decent home form can be translated into results away. That has often been the club's problem.

Evaluating Gattuso's start so far, with 9 points, it's mixed in relation to former managers. A win today would produce a start bettered in the last 11 seasons only by Nuno and Marcelino's debut seasons. A draw or a defeat would mean the same average start we've seen far too often and leave a struggle for the European places ahead.

Espanyol come into the game in poor form. They needed a 98th minute goal to get a draw at Celta on the opening day, lost at home to Rayo and R. Madrid, got a surprise win at Bilbao before losing at home to Sevilla and away to Sociedad. The pressure is also on them to get results.

For our line-up, Musah remains the main injury doubt so the only questions are 3 positions in the centre. Will Paulista partner Diakhaby or will Comert be preferred? Which 3 of Guillamon, Almeida, Ilaix or Nico will start? Up front will Cavani start or will Marcos Andre or Duro start instead?

Line up and updates will follow.

--------------------------

And we have the line-up and it's one free of surprises.

Let's hope for the 3 points!

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10 minutes in and Espanyol had the better start, pressing us, but we had the best chances. First Gaya's cross was missed by Cavani and then Lino dribbled well to leave himself one on one, though with a defender on him and from an angle and was saved by the keeper.

12: good work again from Lino. He lays it off to Cavani who shoots over.

16: Uff. Guillamon, who's been shaky so far, gives it away. There's a 3 on 3 break and Mamardashvili has to turn away Braithwaite's shot.

23: Nice! Diakhaby, Almeida and Lino with a great link up but the shot is just wide.

28: We've looked in control but only the Lino chances to show for it.

45: most of our attacks have come down the left. It looks like Lino and Castillejo have switch sides. 57% possession but without too many threats. Cavani has been disappointing. 

46: Kluivert is on for Castillejo who was invisible the first half, though the right side saw almost nothing in passing. Hopefully Castillejo isn't injured as he was good in previous games and earned a player of the month nomination.

47: penalty claim for Espanyol but looks like the ball just missed Thierry's hand.

50 break on for Espanyol but great work by Gaya to cut it out. Guillamon, whose passing has sucked gives it back.

52: GOAL! Through ball finds Ilaix, who puts in a good centre for Cavani who can't get there. Espanyol put it out for a corner, nice header down from Paulista, the keeper gets a hand but it creeps in at the post.

55: FFS. 1-1. It's very close, Joselu is just about level when he gets the ball and he curls it past the defender and keeper off the post.

62: close again from Espanyol, Braithwaite gets and forces a save, the ball pings around and reaches Darder whose bouncing shot goes out off the bar. We're on the back foot now.

67: chances for both teams. Cavani hits a free kick just over, Joselu gets in but Diakhaby and Gaya do enough to put him off and he shoots over.

72: Espanyol have looked the more likely to score, sadly. Triple substitution. Comert on for Paulista, Andre for Cavani, Nico for Almeida.

77: first Valencia chance in a while, centre from Gaya, Kluivert just can't get to it, comes to Andre who blasts over.

80: excellent from Guillamon who makes space and force a great save from their keeper as it was going in.

82: Losing 2-1. Comert did well to cut out a pass, but we're clumsy in midfield possession, give it away, Darder is allowed to run freely and his shot from out of the area goes on. Unusually poor from Mamardsashvili who was wrongfooted.

83: Duro on for Ilaix.

84: Going from bad to worse, Marcos Andre tussles with their defender. Looked like 6 of one half a dozen of the other to me, but he puts his hand on the defender's face and he goes down like he was hit with a baseball bat. Red card for Andre and we're down to 10 men.

91: 10 men each as Braitwaite is sent off for fouling Thierry. 7 minutes left of added time to rescue something.

92: Valencia really pushing. Mamardashvili is even on their half to make a pass. Nico, who gave it away for their 2nd hits a good shot which their keeper fumbles but just managed to push off the line.

95: GOAL! Lucky, but it counts. Valencia put a throw in, it's knocked out. Comert puts the ball into the box looking for a colleague but somehow it sails over the keeper, who totally misses it.

FINAL: 2-2

Somewhere between disappointment and thinking that a draw is a fair result. Valencia looked in control for much of it but gifted a goal to Darder, then had to rely on luck to fluke an equaliser. After 7 games the feeling would still be that we're more exciting to watch but are going to have a similar finish to last time, a mid table irrelevance.  

PLAYER RATINGS
Mamardashvili 5.5: made a few important stops but at fault for their goal.
Gaya 6.5: good game in defence and attack, his crossing was better here.

Diakhaby 6.5: another solid game and his passing continues to improve.
Paulista 6: apart from Espanyol's opener, handled Joselu well. Looked better this game and scored.
Thierry 6: a quiet first half, saw more action in the 2nd and provoked the dismissal of Braithwaite.
Ilaix 5: needs to get forward more and stop going for the foul, but had few mistakes.
Almeida 4: very quiet game where he saw little of the ball
Guillamon 6: After a shaky start when he was gifting possession improved in the 2nd half and was unlucky not to score.
Lino 7: a constant threat to their defenders in the first half, though ran out of steam in the 2nd.
Cavani 3.5: disappointing game and so far he's been rusty it's been a case of Uruguayan up front with nothing happening, same as last season.
Castillejo 2.5: worst game of the season. Totally anonymous and barely touched the ball.

SUBS:
Kluivert 5: lively at times, but lacking experience
Nico 4: guilty of gifting possession for them for their second, nearly made up for it with an equaliser.
Comert 6: has been this season's most improved player. Now looks sound in defence and got a lucky goal.
Andre 2: improvement on Cavani, and the red card was dubious, but you're asking for trouble when you put your hands in someone's face. He really should know better and could have cost us the game.
Duro: not enough time.

Valencia 3-0 Celta match thread

 After a disappointing and poor performance last week, the pressure is on to get something from today against Celta. They're just above us in the standings following a mixed start. They began in disappointing style dropping 2 points to a 98th minute penalty equaliser at home to Espanyol. They also lost 1-4 at home to Real Madrid and by the same scoreline away to Atletico Madrid. However they beat relegation favourites Cadiz 3-0 at home and won 1-0 at Girona. Brais Mendes was a big loss for them in the summer, but they've retained Iago Aspas who has scored 5 goals in 5 games so far. His inexplicable omission from the Spain squad can only be down to personal disputes with Luis Enrique.

For Valencia, Jaume is out for many months and Yunus is an injury doubt for this game. On the plus side, Cavani has been training with the full squad and may make his debut tonight, though I'd expect him to come off the bench rather than start. Mamardashvili, Gaya and Thierry should all start. The biggest question is the defence. Diakhaby has been our best defender for a while now and it remains to be seen if Paulista will get another chance after being awful last week or if Comert will get the nod instead. If Yunus is unavailable then it most likely means a midfield of Guillamon and Nico, which means we may get to see Almeida start for the first time. I'd expect to see Duro or Andre start, flanked by Lino and Castillejo, with Cavani maybe coming on for last 20 minutes.

Our recent form against Celta has been good, 6-2-2 over the last five seasons, including winning both last season. Unfortunately, that counts for very little and if we have any hopes of a top half finish nevermind Europe, this is a must-win game.

-----------------

So, Cavani starts to my surprise. Comert plays instead of Paulista and Ilaix instead of Nico. Both changes totally justifiable benching 2 of the worst players from last week. Also good to see Almeida, who has shown brief flashes start instead of injury doubt Yunus.

Let's hope Cavani can find his best form!

26 minutes in and both teams have mostly cancelled each other out. Our best chance has actually come from Diakhaby hitting the post from a corner. We've been trying to get the ball in to Cavani but the accuracy just hasn't been there. Thierry and Moriba both had great bits of skill but nothing resulted. Celta have had a couple of half hearted penalty shouts. Their best chances were when Comert mishit a pass and Guillamon had to commit a tactical foul and take a yellow for the team Guillamon was the villain for the second, giving it away when we were trying to play it out from the back. We've been careless in posession.

HALF-TIME
We improved in the later part of the half and lead 1-0. It was a good goal. Great work from Lino on the left holding off two defenders. He tried to beat the keeper who parried and Castillejo was quickest to follow up and finish well. Didn't see much of Cavani but I think our midfield has handled them well. Moriba has been especially good. Diakhaby, Mamardashvili and Thierry have been solid. A bit disappointed with Gaya's passing. As in previous games we've dominated possession. The main issue is that while we've done better than last week against a high press, we don't look very comfortable. Giving the ball away in risky positions hasn't hurt us so far but it will if we keep doing it. Unfortunately our team still looks unbalanced and inexperienced and seems to have mistakes waiting to happen.

--------------

49: A bit of humour. Lino's shot is blocked by the Celta player with his elbow. It was in a natural position so no foul. But the commentator says "it came off his elbow, it was beside his arm." Yes, that's where elbows usually are found.

54: Insane. Lino is clearly brought down in the box. One of the most obvious penalties you'll see this weekend and he's booked for non-existent simulation. Disgraceful decision. What's the point of VAR?

59: The referee balancing it out for his poor call? Cervi of Celta gets a straight red for a dirty challenge on Thierry.

63: Celta get a rare corner, on the break Moriba is elbowed off the ball. Nothing doing says the ref, who's been poor this half. Moriba has been constantly fouled.

68: Moriba goes off for Nico after a very solid game.

71: Cavani goes off to a round of applause. Castillejo too. Kluivert and Andre are on. Celta get a free kick in a dangerous position and Mamardashvili produces a point blank save to deny them.

74: Good few minutes for us, with Gaya's shot from range forcing a save. But we need to bury this.

79: Chance! A good break, excellent through ball from Andre, but from an angle, Kluivert just can't beat the keeper. He forces a save from a header a minute later too.

82: Marcos Andre! Another Valencia break and this time there's no mistake. With the ball played forward, Gaya is strong to challenge and the ball falls to Andre who beats the keeper with a low drive.

84: Gaya and Comert off for Lato and Paulista.

93: 3-0! Celta look tired, we've been threatening  and after our cross is cut out, Guillamon threads it through to Almeida in the box and he finishes well for his first goal.

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FULL-TIME: 3-0
After an even first 30 minutes Valencia grew into the game and got a deserved win to chase away the disappointment of last week. Win or lose the team is just far more enjoyable to watch this season. There are definitely areas to improve. The passing can be careless, the final ball often is too rushed. Playing out from the back is clearly the game plan but we struggle with presses and the players often make mistakes in these situations. It's hoped they'll improve with experience.

PLAYER RATINGS
Mamaradashvili 7.5: deserved clean sheet, only suffered with a couple of mistakes in distribution
Gaya 5.5: a little disappointed with his crossing and final balls, but he redeemed himself with a key role in the second goal.
Comert 6: much improved this season though can be a bit careless with passing under pressure
Diakhaby 7: enjoying a really good run in the team. Never misplaced a pass and his positioning is always correct.
Thierry 7: Had a good day. Strong in defence and in attack with even a few flashy moments.
Guillamon 6.5: helped the team well with a tactical foul and assist, but can be a bit too carefree on the ball in dangerous positions
Almeida 6.5: his first full game and it was a solid one with good passing and a goal
Ilaix 7.5: probably his best game for us, a commanding presence in midfield 
Lino 7: a flair player, good involvement in 2 of the goals. Can still be too selfish but given his contribution can be forgiven for that today.
Castillejo 6.5: a continual threat on their wing and moved well. Took his goal confidently. He's now the team's top scorer!
Cavani 5: a quiet, almost disappointing debut. He worked hard but had little of the ball to work with.

Nico 5: filled the hole in midfield but wasn't that productive 
Marcos Andre 6.5: good sub appearance, making their defenders work and taking his goal well
Kluivert 6.5: very lively presence. Didn't get a goal but it's coming, needs to maintain this level.
Paulista 5: late sub, didn't have much to do but looked better than last week
Lato 5.5: late sub but covered well 

Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Valencia match thread

Valencia come into this game after a morale boosting thumping win over Getafe. Prior to that game, many questions had been asked about whether the team could, for all the improved play and possession the previous game, actually get shots on target, let alone score goals and they answered in emphatic fashion. But in the end this is only one game and the team in fact still has 4 points less than Bordalas did after his first four games which included a 4-1 win at Osasuna, so we need to see this sustained across several games before we can get excited.

Rayo's start has been patchy. They started well against the Barcelona teams, getting a draw in Nou Camp before winning at Espanyol, but then they lost at home to Mallorca, with Kangin Lee getting a goal and assist. The last game they lost to a 90th minute winner at Osasuna. It's been an unproductive ground for Valencia to play at, our last win there came in December 2014 in the Copa del Rey while the last league win was in May 2013. 

In team news, Jaume got a serious injury and may miss most of the season. The club is evaluating the option of signing ex-Bilbao keeper Iago Herrerin as cover for the season. As one of the only free agents with La Liga experience, he's the obvious choice. Diakhaby and Marcos Andre have recovered from their injuries and are available, while Paulista and Gaya are back. On the other hand, Ilaix is suspended after his sending off last week. 

Gaya and Paulista come back today replacing Lato and Comert. Cavani is still training and not involved yet.

4 min: And Valencia are behind already. We tried to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick but got dispossessed, we gave away a soft foul in a dangerous position and poor defending meant they scored.

10 min: we've struggled with Rayos' press and have given the ball away too cheaply leading to them having the better chances.

14 min: shambles at the back. We lose the ball easily in midfield, Trejo totally owns Paulista with a turn and has the whole goal to aim at. Mamardashvili parries, Rayo have the chance again but Thierry blocks on the line. So nearly 2 down.

17 min: Alvaro Garcia accelerates, beats Thierry and Paulista (who's had a terrible game so far) but his centre is cut out by Diakhaby.

18 min: Musah gives it away with a sloppy pass in midfield, they're in again all too easy, and Mamardashvili has to put it behind for a corner.

25 min: Valencia have a rare spell of possession, but for the second time, Gaya overhits his cross which sails out for a goal kick.

28 min: cooling break and Valencia need to work something out. Midfield non-existent, getting totally overrun, mentally slow and getting easily dispossessed and rarely able to break out of our first third.

32 min: no change. Rayo still have us pinned back. They get their 5th corner (we've had none) and Mamardashvili punches away.

34 min: the ball bounces over Paulista and Rayo are in. Thierry body charges the Rayo player over in the box. Correctly not a penalty though I've seen ones like that given.

36 min: Valencia's first corner, but Nico flicks well over.

37 min: Valencia move it about well, but yet again Gaya messes up with his cross. They've been awful today.

39 min: Lino needs to learn to pass the ball. He gets it in a good position but dribbles into trouble. Needs to be more of a team player.

40 min another good chance for Rayo. Dangerous free kick and they head just over.

42 min: Castillejo fouled. I nearly forgot he was playing as, like Duro, he's barely had a touch

45 min: better! Valencia's corner is pushed out, we keep possession, Nico's shot is well charged down. It falls to Duro who volleys over though it was probably offside.

HALFTIME: We're lucky to be only one down. There were few positives there with Mamardashvili and Diakhaby saving a couple of dangerous attacks. It's hard to believe we've had 56% possession as they've dominated us.

46: Lino loses it but Thierry is strong to cover.

47: Valencia with the best chance yet, good work by Castillejo in taking out 2 defenders, Musah's cutback gives Nico the whole goal to shoot at but he puts it over.

51: Terrible. Trejo gets past 3 of our players. Nico brings him down. We give away an unnecessary corner and with no danger, Nico slices it into his own net. Why isn't Almeida on instead? 0-2

54: Heart in mouth as Paulista gets owned yet again. Camello with a good chance blocked. We get the corner clear but after the ball spins across our area, luckily no Rayo player there to get a touch but they're pushing for a third.

57 Thierry is brought down in a dangerous position. Commentator thinks we'll be missing Soler. Why? He never hit a useful free kick that I remember. Gaya hits it and at least gets it on target but it's easy for the keeper. Marcos Andre has come on for Nico.

61: Valencia have a couple of corners without creating anything. Lino, as usual, dawdles on the ball, tries to dribble a bit and loses it, there's a dangerous counter on which Mamardashvili has to come way out to clear. Someone with the initials GG needs to have a word with Lino.

64: Good free kick put in which Paulista heads just over. Kluivert and Lato on for Duro and Gaya.

70: We move it up the field well, but Lato overhits his cross with Andre waiting in the centre.

72: Cooling break. It looks like we've switched to a 4-4-2 with Kluivert and Andre up front but nothing much happening. Rayo at least have run out of steam a bit but they should be ok with a 2-goal lead.

76: good interception and pass from Diakhaby finding Andre but a poor first touch lets him down and the danger passes.

78: Mamardashvili saves us again, that's Rayo's 6th shot on target, we've had 1. Almeida on for Guillamon.

82: A good run from Lino but again, instead of centring it, he selfishly takes a shot which the keeper easily covers.

92: DIAKHABY! A good few minutes from Valencia. Almeida centres from a free kick and Diakhaby knocks it in at the back post. Too little, too late.

FULL TIME.
A poor and really flat performance after the high of last week. The team showed their inexperience against a high press in the first half and got overrun. Really a 1-goal loss flatters us. Rayo hadn't won at home in 9 months but beat us so easily. The questions being asked before the previous game return.

PLAYER RATINGS
Mamardashvili 6: saved us on a couple of occasions. Without him it would have been more.
Thierry 4: mostly covered his side well, but also lost possession in some dangerous areas.
Paulista 1: awful return to the side, constantly out of position and failed when needed, hard to believe that Comert looked better.
Diakhaby 5: best of the defence, cut out a number of dangerous balls and grabbed a consolation at the end.
Gaya 3: sluggish return and his crossing was abysmal in this game, ruining some promising chances.
Guillamon 4: overrun with the rest of the midfield, needed more presence this game.
Nico 0: poor in midfield, missed one of our best chances and scored their winner. Can it get any worse?
Musah 4: was full of energy but his passing was off and never got a chance to link up in any meaningful way
Castillejo 3: had a couple of good link ups at the end after an invisible first half.
Lino 3: has ability and is a good dribbler but way too selfish. PASS THE BALL!
Duro 3: forgettable day, though he was starved of any service.

Andre 4: more lively than Duro and posed more of a threat but the final touch wasn't there.
Lato 4: an improvement on Gaya, especially in the passing sense.
Kluivert 4: limited time generated some moments of danger and forced a save from the keeper
Almeida 5: limited time but performed well in the brief period he was on and got a good assist.

Valencia 5-1 Getafe match thread

 It's half-time in the Mestalla as I write this. In terms of playing style Valencia had started the season much better, unfortunately only 1 win and 2 defeats were the results. A big question before this game was if Valencia could actually create anything, as we'd only created 3 shots on goal from open play. 

The answer so far has been an emphatic yes. Valencia have dominated Getafe, blitzing them with 3 goals in the opening 16 minutes. Besides the good result so far, the team looks to be playing with bags of confidence, stringing passed together and generally looking very with it. Castillejo and Lino, 2 players who've been criticised so far in the season, have played well and contributed with goals. Whatever the result today, it's much better to watch this version of Valencia play.

FULL TIME
The match finished 5-1, a deserved result. Super performances from Lino and Musah and it was good to see the youngsters doing one touch and accurate passing rather than the "kick it upfield and hope" anti-football we saw last season. A few negatives, with both Marcos Andre and Diakhaby going off injured and Musah limping around a bit at the end, though in the case of him and Diakhaby it didn't look so serious. I only counted one Diakhaby mistake from a misplaced pass and he went off to a round of applause. Comert also made a couple of important interceptions. A run of mostly winnable games coming up. Let's hope we can maintain this level

Updates

 It's been a long time without updates as I've been on holiday or working. So here's a summary.

TRANSFERS OUT

Cheryshev's contract finished at the end of last season. While he had some quality moments, his time here was too inconsistent and marred with injuries. He has yet to find a new club.

All 4 players who'd been on loan (Helder Costa, Moriba, Alderete and Bryan Gil) returned to their parent clubs. The first two were no surprise but with Valencia's frailities at the back, there were calls for us to exercise the 7 million buy option for Alderete. In the end he joined Getafe instead and will probably be back at the Mestalla next game. Bryan Gil continues to be linked with a loan return for a year.

Koba was loaned out to Oviedo. He's shown flashes of potential but needs extended game time and with new additions in our midfield he clearly isn't going to get that this season.

Jesper Cillessen was also moved out, returning to his native Netherlands. Like Cheryshev, his time was us saw him injured and unavailable far too often. With Mamardashvili showing good quality after a shaky start he was not needed. The swap with Neto, which seemed a good idea at the time ultimately turned out to be a disaster for all parties as Neto spent his time at Barcelona on the bench before joining Bournemouth on a free earlier this month. 

Easily the biggest loss of the window was Guedes. While this was expected, it was still frustrating as he had finally started to show consistent form and was constantly a goal threat. The fee was also a bit on the disappointing side at 33 - 35 million plus around 4 million more in add ons. The problem was that PSG were due to get 25% of any fee above 40 million so the clubs settled for below that. It seems at best a sideways move for him, as Wolves are struggling and highly unlikely to make Europe this year.

At the time of writing, Soler's future is up in the air. This is another tough one. The club are offering a 5-season renewal but the problem is that mentally, the player seems to have been elsewhere the last few years. His performances have been inconsistent. Again, the issue is a disappointingly low transfer fee being offered by PSG: 15-17 million. It puts Valencia in a tricky position because if he refuses to renew, then the club may just have to take the cash rather than lose him for free next summer. Plus, Valencia allegedly still owe PSG from the Guedes signing. Great things were expected from Soler when he made his breakthrough. He's been a solid player but not the game changing one we hoped for.

Maxi Gomez looks all but gone with only the fee with Fenerbahce to be negotiated. Marcos Andre also continues to be linked. Another disappointment and would also free up a non-EU spot. Manu Vallejo lastly seems surplus to requirements as no coach has trusted him to play him enough.

TRANSFERS IN
For once, Valencia did most of their business in good time rather than scrambling around in the last hour on 31 August.

Samu Castillejo was the first player to join on a free from Milan. He did well in pre-season but has looked iffy in recent games with his crosses often overhit.

Samuel Lino and Nico have joined us on season loans from Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. The second has only made late sub appearances so far so it's hard to say. Lino has shown flashes of quality but also has shown a greedy streak so the jury is out.

In defence, Cenk Ozkacar joined us on loan from Lyon. He's supposed to have potential but hasn't played yet and with the injuries to Paulista and Diakhaby and Comert error-prone it's a real surprise this position wasn't reinforced more seriously.

Valencia's only money spent on a transfer was 7.5 million on Andre Almeida from Vitoria in Portugal courtesy of his Portuguese agent whose name needs not be spoken. He's highly rated but again hasn't played yet so we have to wait and see if he can be Soler's heir in midfield.

Lastly, Valencia finally made a marquee signing with Edinson Cavani arriving on a free transfer to great expectation from fans. His scoring rate speaks for itself but there are questions of whether he can repeat it after a disappointing final season at Manchester United and also if he can avoid injuries as he will be 36 in February.

Valencia continues to be linked with another attacker with Braithwaite linked from Barcelona or a return of Bryan Gil. There have been various suggestions of a "surprise addition/return" with both Mata's and Otamendi's names mentioned. 

THE GAMES
Valencia started with their customary 1-0 home win over a team that begins with G, beating Granada through a Soler penalty. A tight game at Bilbao followed with a disappointing 1-0 defeat. Last night Valencia put up a good showing against Atletico Madrid but unfortunately lost to a deflected goal after having a Musah wonder strike cancelled out. 

The positive that has to be said is that Valencia are playing much better football than we saw with BORE-dalas ball which had so many of us switching off last season. The team seem capable of stringing multiple passes together, maintaining possession and using a high press.

The negative lies in the following stats.
Against Granada we shared possession but aside from Soler's penalty we only had 1 shot on target the whole game.

At Bilbao we had 63% possession but managed no shots on target. Yep, ZERO!

Last night we went further, having 71% possession but only managing 2 shots on target, while for all their limited possession Atletico managed 7 on target.

So to sum up, 3 games, only 3 shots on target and no goals from open play. This is something that Gattuso urgently needs to fix. Our issue for several seasons has been producing little to nothing for our forwards to work with. It's partly why people like Gameiro and Maxi came and failed. The team needs to create something for Cavani or Duro to work with. As I said lots of times when the topic of replacing Marcelino with Setien came up, possession for its own sake is pointless, we need to create something.

I'll put at least a comment thread up for upcoming games. 


 

Atletico Madrid 3-2 Valencia

So frustrating. Valencia's poor run against Atleti continues. We haven't beaten them since 2014 and haven't won away to them since the pre-Simeone days of 2011. This was a game we had in our hands. An excellent first half performance, taking advantage of their defence being all over the place. Guedes played a superb cross field ball to Musah who produced an excellent finish for the first. Duro took advantage of defensive confusion to sneak in and finish well.

The logical thing to do in the second half would be to keep the pressure on, try and exploit their poor defending but no, Bordalas chose to camp everyone back near our box and the outcome was predictable after that, despite our 2-goal lead. Poor marking from a corner led to them getting one back and then, with us doing nothing except defend and hoof the ball forward aimlessly rather than try and keep possession, they scored 2 in injury time to revenge us for when we did the same to them earlier in the season. Games like this raise serious question marks about Bordalas. It doesn't help that the team is very thin and is now down to relying on youth players.

Our transfer window as usual has been a farce. We had all of December to identify players to bring in to strengthen the team for this tough run of games, but as always, we're leaving everything to the last minute and far from strengthening are reducing the squad further by moving out players like Piccini, Vallejo, Blanco and probably soon Wass. Unless something changes, it's easy to see this being another write off season around 12th place. Top 7 looks very unlikely now, with only an unlikely Copa win being able to save us.

Valencia - Bilbao match thread

After a couple of defeats it's a crunch game today. The early results raised hopes that perhaps, just maybe, we'd be able to mount a top four challenge this season but the injuries to Gaya and Soler (and not to forget Cheryshev and Thierry who had good starts to the season) exposed the weaknesses and lack of squad depth. Prior to the season none of us seriously expected top four and this week's results confirmed we don't have the players for now to go up against them. However, European places remain a possibility. For those we need to continue what we're doing: beat the other teams. Our rivals for 5th to 7th are probably Villarreal, Sociedad, Betis and Bilbao, not to mention wild cards like Rayo and Mallorca. It's Bilbao we face today and that means a reunion with our old coach Marcelino in front of a Mestalla crowd for the first time since he was idiotically sacked in 2019. 

Bordalas has only made two changes and neither of them is a surprise. After Mamardashvili's recent errors, Cillessen starts for the first time this season. I guess part of the coach would have been tempted to keep faith with Giorgi but if he'd fumbled again it would not have looked good. The other change sees Musah start for the first time instead of Jason. No one will complain about that. It's hard to predict this one, but I'm hoping for a one goal win.

FIRST HALF
Half way through the first period. We've looked shaky. Lato has been the biggest problem, with some iffy decisions, but Cillessen so far hasn't done himself any favours. He hasn't come to claim balls that he should. Due to that, Bilbao look to me the more likely to score. We've had some possession around their area but without creating much. A shot from Musah which was going wide and was saved by the keeper was as good as it got. 

At the break, even overall, though I think we've struggled in several areas. We haven't created clear chances, have been overrun in midfield at times and struggled in defence especially against the pace of Inaki Williams. 0-0 but I'm hoping for a better performance in the second half.

SECOND HALF
Minute 64 and it's got a bit scrappy. Neither side really creating much. It's been a fairly dull stalemate overall, if we're honest.

Minute 66, for goodness' sake another injury. Hugo Duro, who's been one of the better players today pulls up. Marcos Andre and Jesus Vazquez will come on. We hit the post earlier through Wass but it's still Bilbao who look more likely to get a goal here. Hold up, they just have. That's been coming. 0-1. I was just about to type before the goal that our marking has sucked and we saw it there.

70: Unlucky for Marcos Andre who tried to lob the keeper but it's just over.

75: cooling break. We look flat and out of ideas here, restricted to mostly tame shots from distance which Unai Simon has easily dealt with. Without Soler the creativity just isn't there.

81: bad to worse. Second yellow for Maxi after an idiotic pull on a Bilbao player who was nowhere near goal. The first yellow card on him was harsh it has to be said, but risking a pull when you're on a yellow is stupid. Also looks like Musah may have got injured. Our season unravelling bit by bit. Jason on for Musah, Vallejo for Wass.

90: seven minutes added on but right now, it looks like they could add on seventy minutes and we still wouldn't score, we've created next to nothing this game. Crossing from Foulquier and Jason has been very poor.

94: MARCOS ANDRE! I think it was Guillamon who chipped it over, Guedes sent it back across and Andre finished well.

95: Super save from Cillessen. We need to focus here.

FINAL: 1-1 a tough game and in the end given how we fell behind and ended with ten men, a point rescued. Losing three on the trot would have set alarm bells ringing but we saved it. The performance was still uninspiring and hopefully we can do better next game in Cadiz. (I'll be unavailable for that, by the way, so someone else will have to do the write-up.) The main lesson this week is that this team is a work in progress and we're lacking in decent replacements. I hope there'll be patience with the coach and the squad as the Mestalla public return.

Sevilla vs Valencia match thread

After a relatively easy run of fixtures, we entered our difficult period this week, falling at the first hurdle with a loss against Real Madrid. Despite the result, the performance was encouraging though soured both by the manner of defeat and a growing injury list. Gaya is expected to be out for 3-4 weeks, Thierry about 3 and Soler 2-3 weeks. 

Today's opponents Sevilla are, of course, the main rivals we need to overcome if we have any dreams of top four. They've had a reasonable enough start: a 3-0 home win over Rayo, win at Getafe and draws at Sociedad and Elche. All in all, I'm hoping for a win, but would gladly settle for a draw from this game.

 

Bordalas, as ever, has gone with continuity in the line up. The major surprise is Jason starting on the right instead of Musah, who had a good game last time. Helder Costa or Racic starting in the middle with Wass on the right were other options. Obviously, given Jason's underwhelming performances previously, this is a bit of a mystifying decision, so we can only hope the coach has got it right.

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I think I'll leave you all to comment on this. 15 minutes in and this is one of the worst performances in a while. The first goal was bad enough: awful decision by Wass trying an over-ambitious crossfield ball which got easily intercepted. The midfield and defence were all over the place and Mamardashvili stood there like a statue as it went in. The second was much worse, what on earth was the goalkeeper doing, just standing there as it bounced over his head. As I was typing this, Sevilla scored a third, didn't see it due to writing this. The goal on twitter also looks bad, Mamardashvili getting lobbed like an amateur. His honeymoon and Bordalas' is finished. Over and out from me.

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Post-match comments: switched off just before the third goal, so based on quick highlights and match reports: awful from Mamardashvili, Alderete, Lato, Jason (no surprise) and Maxi. Hugo Guillamon also said to be weak. Wass dubious. Well taken goal for the second game in a row by Hugo Duro. Effort at least from Guedes. 

After the positive emotions generated by the decent start, we've come crashing down to reality in the last 2 games. The lesson, as we saw last season, is that while our main XI is good enough, there's a significant drop in quality once we get to replacements, leaving us very vulnerable to injuries. I wouldn't give up on Mamardashvili, who does show promise, but I think a spell gaining experience with the reserves would quicken his adaptation to Spain. Right now he looks like he's been promoted too quickly. It's hard to see how Bordalas can persist with him now after mistakes 3 games in a row and with Cillessen available. Some of the selections also look dubious: Jason? What does Maxi have to do to be benched? Why don't players like Musah, Racic and Vallejo feature more? A reality check this week for sure.

Valencia versus Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga since year 2000

 It's that time again. Valencia, after an impressive start to the season, face Real Madrid, who have had a similarly good start. If history tells us anything it's that these games are filled with drama. A dubious injury time penalty in early 2004 when both Valencia and RM were battling for the title denied us 3 points at the Bernabeu. Another controversial penalty was awarded against Abdennour at home to Barca to steal a morale boosting point at one of our lowest ebbs.

Valencia's performances against the El Clasico two usually seem to defy form and logic. In one of our better periods, when we were constantly finishing third, we lost all 4 games each season. Conversely, in one of the worst seasons this century, 2015-16, Neville's Valencia was a last minute Negredo miss away from beating Real Madrid, while Neville's successor, the otherwise inept Pako Ayestaran, beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp. (Ayestaran's account of how he did it is worth a watch.) So here's the table since the year 2000 in La Liga

From that, it's clear that our best years against the big two were the first half of the 2000s. The 2005-6 season remains the only one where we were unbeaten by both of them, taking 8 points from 12. That along with the title winning seasons were the only ones when we managed to beat both the big two in the same season.

Our worst period was 2009-2013, much of that coinciding with Unai Emery's tenure. In fact Emery's poor record against the big two, despite having a squad which contained peak-level Villa, Silva and Mata, was one of the main reasons why the Mestalla faithful turned against him. 

Our overall record against both is similar: 36 points from a possible 126 against Barcelona and 37 points against Real Madrid, but this is markedly different depending on where we play. Against Barcelona, weirdly we've done as well in the Nou Camp as we do in Mestalla: 4-6-11 is our record in both stadiums. Against La Real however, there's a marked difference. In Mestalla we're 7-4-10 while in Madrid it's been mostly barren ground: 2-6-13. We've also done quite a bit better against Madrid in recent times: our home record is 4-2-1 over the last seven seasons. On the other hand, our last win in the Bernabeu was in 2007-8.

Sunday will continue the journey and the hope is we can continue our recent home streak against them.

Super league will destroy football

 I'm sure everyone will have seen the plans for a European Super League, with 15 fixed members: three to be decided, 6 English, the Milans, Juventus and the Spanish Big Three. That latter group would once have included Valencia but it's a sign of how far we've fallen in the last decade that no one questions us being absent and no one even has to ask who the big three in Spain are.

The plan is to have those 15, plus 5 extra teams each year. Whether they would qualify or just be invited is unclear. The clubs involved don't intend this to be a breakaway: they plan to participate in this as well as playing in the national leagues, gambling on the fact that the national leagues won't kick them out. They also promise a solidarity fund greater than there is at the minute for other clubs. 

The Super League idea has been around for ages. "Footballer of the year" a game I played on the MSX computer back in the 1980s included a European Super League, as did later games and it was the idea of it that caused UEFA to bring a group stage into the European Cup in the 1990s.  Ultimately, their attempts at concessions to big clubs have clearly failed. Pandering to greed has just produced more greed.

All the 15 clubs participating would get 350 million euro a year just for taking part, with prize money of around 50 million. That compares to the current situation where a team winning the English Premier and Champions league double would get 230 million. Needless to say, for clubs like Arsenal and Milan, who have frequently been absent, it's a considerable windfall.

La Liga Matchday #26: Valencia CF 2 - 1 Villareal CF Match Thread

 PREVIEW

Valencia come into this game off a heavy 3-0 away defeat to Getafe. The team failed to show up or put in the required effort. That, paired with an early red card in the second half, made for an embarrassing game altogether.

Villareal have been poor recently as well, having not won a game in La Liga since early January. Their previous game was 0-2 home loss to Atletico Madrid. Despite dominating the game's possession and overall shots, they weren't effective in front of goal. An own goal in the first half and a great strike from Joao Felix in the second made the difference.

Valencia are currently 14th with 27 points from 25 games while Villareal are 7th with 37 points from just as many games.

SQUAD

Diakhaby will miss this game due to the red card he picked up last game. This should provide an opportunity for Guillamon or Ferro to start. 

Cheryshev and Piccini are the only two players left on the injury list.