La Liga Matchday #23: Real Madrid CF 2 - 0 Valencia CF Match Thread

PREVIEW

Real Madrid's previous fixture was midweek at home against Getafe - a game that they won 2-0. The game was fairly one-sided with Real Madrid dominating possession and the vast majority of chances. A header from Benzema to meet a cross from the right wing put the home team in front, before Mendy extended their lead with a tap in from a cross from the opposite flank.

Valencia played out a 1-1 draw at home against Athletic Bilbao in their last fixture. An own goal by Hugo Guillamon put the away team in front just before half-time. Valencia equalized in the second half through a corner set piece delivered by Soler and converted by Paulista.

Real Madrid are currently 3rd with 46 points from 22 games. Valencia are 12th with 24 points from 22 games.

FORM (all competitions)

Real Madrid: WWLWL

Valencia: DWLLD

SQUAD

Javi Gracia and Guillamon will both serve their suspensions this game, having delayed it for the past two games. This will be the first of two games for Gracia and the only one for Guillamon. With Diakhaby and Mangala injured, Ferro will certainly start this game.

FIRST HALF

12' - Goal for Real Madrid. 1-0. Benzema with an effort from just outside that box that travelled across and into the goal at the far post. 

27' - Yellow card shown to Guedes for a tackle from behind on Varane

28' - First change for Real Madrid. Vazquez replaces the injured Carvajal.

30' - Modrid receives the ball wide on the right and plays a first-time cross to Benzema who attempts to flick the ball past Jaume. Paulista throws his who body in front of the shot to deny the goal.

40'- Modric gets free from Soler at the edge of the penalty area with a couple of touches before firing at goal. Jaume punches the ball back into play towards Modric who wins a corner after his shot deflects off of Paulista.

42' - Goal for Real Madrid. 2-0. No urgency from Valencia as Madrid pass the ball around. Kroos to Asensio to Modric while Gaya does little to pressure.  A pull-back to Vazquez and another to Toni Kroos who hits it low and into the net at the near post.

44' - Yellow card shown to Racic for a rough challenge on Vinicius

45' - One minute added by the referee for stoppages

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats. 10-0 shots, 5-0 shots on target, 67-33% possession, 91-79% pass accuracy.

The stats speak for themselves. This was very poor from Valencia. Despite the urgency of the situation the team is in with the standings, and the quality of the team in front of the them, they have failed to step up. 

Real Madrid got away with playing at a very tame pace without challenge or punishment. Even still, they managed to get 2 goals doing so. Valencia meanwhile, not a single shot, let alone any on target. 

Gracia needs to wake the team up in half-time or else this could get really bad in the second half.

SECOND HALF

45' - Double substitution for Valencia. Musah and Gameiro on, Guedes and Vallejo off

46' - Yellow card shown to Theirry Correia for a challenge on Vinicius

53' - Maxi Gomez gets the first shot on target from a long way out and forces a save out of Courtois

61' - Goal over-ruled. Real Madrid put the ball in the back of the net but he was offside when he received the ball.

64' - Double substitution for Valencia. Kang In and Oliva replace Wass and Soler.

71' - Second change for Real Madrid. Asensio is taken off, Sergio Arribas takes his place.

78' - Double change for Real Madrid. Benzema and Modric are replaced by Mariano and Isco

82' - Final change for Valencia. Cutrone on, Maxi Gomez off.

90' - Three minutes added by the referee for stoppages.

FULL-TIME

Full-time stats. 16-4 shots, 7-1 shots on target, 61-39% possession, 91-84% pass accuracy.

Valencia barely managed to contain the damage to the 2 goals conceded in the first half. They also managed to get a shot on target and test Curtois. Other than that, it was more of the same lethargic team that showed up in the first half. 

The commentary on beIN sports was saying how embarrassing the first half was for Valencia and that they would struggle to find another game that was this easy for one team this season as the one they've seen today. That about sums it up.

Next game for Valencia is on the 20th at home against Celta Vigo.

La Liga Matchday #22: Athletic Bilbao 1 - 1 Valencia CF Match Thread

PREVIEW

Athletic Bilbao come into this game having played the Copa del Rey Quarter Final away against Real Betis mid-week. A late goal from Juanmi in the 84 minute put the home team in front, before Raul Garcia rescued his side in the 4th minute of injury time to extend the game into extra-time. After two scoreless halves of extra time, Athletic beat Betis 1-4 in the shootout to qualify to the semi-finals.

Valencia had no game mid-week and their most recent game was a narrow 1-0 win at home against Elche. The header from Daniel Wass from Guedes's cross would be the only thing separating the two teams for the game.

Athletic Bilbao are 11th in the league with 24 points from 20 games while Valencia are currently 14th with 23 points from 21 games

FORM (all competitions)

Athletic Bilbao: WLWWW

Valencia: WLLDW

SQUAD

Cillissen is currently training and should be available within 1-2 weeks.

Diakhaby, Mangala, Cheryshev are out with injuries. Gameiro hasn't been cleared to return following the positive COVID test.

The three new signings: Ferro, Oliva and Cutrone have all passed the PCR tests for COVID and are available for selection. It remains to be seen if any will start/ play a role in the game. It has been reported that Gracia mostly practiced using the same 11 that played against Elche.

FIRST HALF

15' - Vallejo drives the ball forward from midfield on the counter-attack and successfully finds Guedes in a wide position. Guedes puts in a low cross to the near post which is flicked back by Vallejo to Maxi Gomez. Unfortunately, he gets it tangled between his legs and cannot take a shot.

18' -  Wass finds the overlapping run of Correia. He delivers the cross to the center of the box and Maxi attempts to strike it on the volley. The shot is wide.

28' - Racic plays a long diagonal ball aimed at Correia. Gomez heads it to help it reach its destination before getting into the box himself to meet the cross and head it. Again, it's wide of the target.

43' - Goal for Athletic Bilbao. Guillamon puts the ball past his own keeper in an attempt to deny the cross from reaching Inaki Williams at the far post.

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats. 1-6 shots, 0-1 shots on target, 47-53% possession, 78-81% pass accuracy

Quite an unfortunate end to a decent half. The own goal from Guillamon was against the run of play and the only chance at goal by Bilbao for the entire half.

Athletic dominated the first part of the half, pressing really aggressively and forcing Valencia to play rushed passes or long clearances that cost them possession. They got forward many times but had difficulties delivering the final ball, partly due interventions from the Valencia defense but also due to key absences in their team.

Valencia got the majority of chances at goal with well executed counter-attacks. Unfortunately, the finishing left a lot to be desired as none of the shots hit their mark. Valencia was looking like they had figured out how to break down the opposition defense. They drew out their midfielders and found spaces behind them. At the end of a counter-attack, the Bilbao keeper played the ball out quickly starting one for his own team and the final ball was put past Jaume by Guillamon. Guillamon simply had to get a touch there as Williams was lurking behind him and would've surely scored. The touch wasn't the right one though and gave the home team the advantage going into half-time.

SECOND HALF

50' - Williams muscles Correia away and delivers a cross into the box, picking out Sancet in space. He takes a touch and shoots at goal but Jaume manages to save and get back up quickly to claw the ball away from danger. Great work from Jaume.

51' - Yellow card shown to Berenguer for a rough challenge on Guedes

52' - Wass gets a header on Gaya's cross but it's just over the cross-bar. Good, quick response.

64' - Double change for Valencia. Wass and Vallejo are replaced by Musah and Cutrone

65' - Goal for Valencia! 1-1! Gabriel Paulista loses his defender and scores with a header from Soler's corner

67' - Musah with a brilliant individual run from his own half, all the way to the opposing box, leaving defenders in his wake. He opts to go for the shot himself at the end but cannot hit the target.

68' - Substitution for Athletic Bilbao. Unai Lopez replaces Sanset

69' - Double change for Athletic Bilbao. Vesga and de Marcos on, Morcillo and Vencedor off.

73' - Yellow card shown to Inigo Martinez for tripping up Musah

74' - Double change for Athletic Bilbao. Ander Capa and Balenziaga are replaced by Lekue and Berchiche

78' - Jaume with a quick ball out to begin a counter-attack, finding Cutrone in an advanced position. Cutrone picks out Gomez in space and with defenders scrambling to get Gomez, Cutrone gets the ball back. He takes a shot but cannot hit score as the ball is cleared off-the-line.

79' - Yellow card shown to Soler for dragging down Unai Lopez to deny the counter-attack.

86' - Musah and Correia team up on the right flank before the latter puts in a cross into the box. Guedes gets a shot but its deflected off a defender. Racic strikes the loose ball on the volley but it flies over the crossbar.

89' - Final change for Valencia. Alex Blanco in, Goncalo Guedes off.

90' - Three minutes added by the referee for stoppages

FULL-TIME

Full-time stats. 11-15 shots, 2-2 shots on target, 51-49% possession, 76-79% pass accuracy.

Valencia will walk out of this game surely being the more disappointed of the two teams. With the amount of chances they had against an exhausted opposition, it is unfortunate that they couldn't come out with all 3 points. The three points would've put Valencia over Athletic Bilbao in the league standings, although the latter still have a game in hand.

Valencia's next game is on Sunday February 14th away from home against Real Madrid.

Official: Valencia sign Christian Oliva on loan

Valencia completed their 4th transfer signings of the window by signing Cagliari midfielder Christina Oliva on loan. Unlike the signings of Cutrone and Ferro, this deal includes a non-binding purchase option.

Rumors are they could still be one more signing, depending on if an outlet can be found for one more player (either Mangala or Jason Remeseiro). It is said to be difficult though as the players are not looking to leave.

Valencia sign Ferro on loan, Sobrino leaves

Like buses, nothing for a while and then two at once. Valencia's second signing, loan of course, is Ferro from Benfica, who joins until the end of the season with the option to prolong the loan by another year. 

I've mentioned that I;ve seen Cutrone and don't expect much from him: unwanted at Milan, Wolves and Fiorentina, but I think this guy has better potential. He played most of the games for Benfica last season, including 4 of the Champions league group games, so he has reasonable experience and with the injury to Diakhaby, Mangala forever injured, Paulista injury prone and Guillamon a diamond in the rough, it will help to have an extra option in defence.

_________________________

A defensive midfielder, Oliva from Cagliari is said to be the third and final addition. At least we've seen some moves this window.

Balancing these additions is one exit. Ruben Sobrino joins Cadiz until the end of the season. Sobrino joined us exactly two years ago today from Alaves for the head scratching sum of 5 million. It always looked like a panic buy to pay so much for a guy who had managed just 6 goals in 48 league games there. He did have a false dawn at the club, having an amazing debut at Celtic in the Europa league scoring and providing an assist in a 2-0 win, but that would be the only goal of the season. That remained the pattern: a solitary goal, a valuable one, to earn a late draw against Sevilla last season and then a goal at Yeclano in the cup this year. He's clearly surplus to requirements and Cutrone is an upgrade on him at least.

Official: Valencia sign Patrick Cutrone on loan

Valencia have officially announced the signing of Patrick Cutrone on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers FC until the end of 20/21 season. The deal is a pure loan, meaning there will be no purchase option. This Valencia's second signing of the transfer window with Piccini returning to the club last week.

La Liga Matchday #21: Valencia CF 1 - 0 Elche CF Match Thread

NEWS

There was confirmation in the past few days that Guedes was left out of the Sevilla game by technical decision rather than illness/injury. Apparently, there are attitude problems, same as what happened with Maxi Gomez earlier, and Gracia decided to send a message to him. In training, the captains had a word with Guedes, as they did with Maxi, to try to get him motivated and relay his importance to the team.

The player that tested positive for COVID turned out to be Kevin Gameiro. There was a report of another positive test since the Sevilla game.

Javi Gracia and Hugo Guillamon were handed a 2-game and 1-game suspension, respectively, following a recent ruling by the RFEF committee. This was for the intentional yellow card received by Guillamon under instruction from Gracia which was caught on camera in the Atletico Madrid game on November 28. In that game, Guillamon was on 4 yellow cards, 1 away from suspension, and picked up an injury. Before being subbed off, Gracia instructed the player to get a yellow card to waste time, and since he would be out for 2 weeks due to the injury, it wouldn't matter. This is against the rules. Valencia is trying to postpone the punishment due to the shortage of players in defense.

Alex Blanco has been officially promoted to the first team. The Mestalla B team recently signed Outtara from Lille on loan with a purchase option, he takes the spot left by Alex Blanco.

Gracia, in the pre-match press conference, reflected on the fact that the transfer window is in it's last stages and he is still in the dark about whether or not signings will be made.

A decision of Kang-In's future will be postponed until summer, for now it appears he will stay. Gracia added in the press conference that he think he is a promising player who showed a lot of maturity and that he hopes he will stay.

There were reports though that Gaya was at least willing to listen to offers. Barcelona is lurking about and have reportedly made a 15 million euro offer already.

In other transfer rumors, there were reports that Valencia had all but closed of Patrick Cutrone from Wolverhampton and the only obstacle left is facilitating the departure of Sobrino to Cadiz. In midfield Valencia is currently pursuing Luis Florentino (Monaco), Nakamba (Aston Villa), Edson Alvarez (Ajax) or Lucas Torreira (Atletico Madrid).

PREVIEW

Valencia come into this game on the back of 3-0 away defeat in the Copa del Rey round of 16 to Sevilla in midweek. Javi Gracia fielded a weakened team to rest his players for the La Liga fixtures and ended up suffering a big loss. 

Elche's previous fixture was last week, giving them an additional few days rest. They played at home against Barcelona and suffered a 0-2 defeat.

Valencia are currently 14th in the league with 20 points from 20 games. Elche are 19th with 17 points from 18 games.

FORM (**all competitions)

Valencia: LLDWW

Elche: LDLLW

SQUAD

Cillissen and Diakhaby are still out with injuries with Gracia saying that the former could be back after 2 weeks in the best case. Mangala also has an injury but there is some hope that he will be available. Guillamon and Gracia has been cleared to participate after the success of the appeal on the RFEF decision. 

Cheryshev has had some discomfort and it is a doubt whether he will start. Gameiro still hasn't tested negative and will miss the game as well. There are still question marks as to who the second player with the positive result is.

Gracia was asked about Piccini's situation and answered that he believes Piccini has a ways to go to be match fit due to his long-term injury and not playing much with Atalanta.

FIRST HALF

4' - Yellow card shown to Gonzalo Verdu for a late challenge on Manu Vallejo

9' - Gaya plays an early cross into the box after spotting the run from Wass. Both Wass and the keeper come from the ball but Wass gets there first and heads it away from him. He takes a few touches as the defenders scramble to cover their exposed goal. He decides to take the shot but it hits the chest of the defender. There are some appeals for a hand-ball but they are shut down.

22' - Goal for Valencia! 1-0! Racic finds Guedes wide who beats his marker for pace before crossing. Wass meets the cross with a header into the ground which the keeper gets a touch to, but cannot keep out.

30' - Mojica lobs the ball over the defense and sends Morente through towards goal. He into the box with Paulista scrambling back to meet him. He fakes him and takes a shot at goal, but it is over the crossbar.

33'- Penalty for Valencia and yellow card shown to Barragan. Manu Vallejo was taken down in the penalty box to prevent him from getting on the end of Wass's cross. Soler steps up to take the penalty.

34' - The penalty is saved. Badia guesses the correct way and pushes it for Barragan to clear.

37' - The corner delivery into the box is cleared by Maxi Gomez and out of the box. Mojica is strikes the clearance on the volley and manages to keep it on target, Jaume does well to save it.

42' - Yellow card shown to Morente for dissent

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats. 7-5 shots, 4-1 shots on target, 56-44% possession, 83-83% pass accuracy

Decent half from the team, although clearly would've been better if Soler had put away the penalty to give Valencia some breathing room.

Valencia looked the better team in most areas of the field but that is not to say that Elche didn't cause a threat. It was good to see the team press their defense so well in the first 20 minutes or so in an attempt to force errors. 

Guedes did well to set up the goal for Valencia, beating his defender and crossing into a good position for Wass to connect with it. Credit to Wass for keeping his eye on the ball and attacking it, ahead of all the defenders.

Valencia would have a chance to make it 2-0 after Vallejo was tackled in the penalty box to deny him a chance to head Wass's cross. Soler stepped up and despite his good conversion, couldn't beat the keeper today.

SECOND HALF

Double substitution at half time for Elche. Barragan and Jose Pomares are replaced by Pere Milla and Miguel Cifuentes.

48' - Yellow card shown to Ivan Marcone for a rough challenge on Soler

49' - Soler with a bit of individual skill drives the ball forward and beats a few defenders, opening up a chance at goal. His shot is deflected wide. Would've been a wonderful goal.

61' - Guedes with another well-hit cross, this time low and across goal towards Manu Vallejo. It hits Cifuentes, takes another touch off Verdu and into the post. Soler is closest but he cannot get it past the keeper.

65' - Yellow card shown to Diego Gonzalez for an elbow to the head of Maxi Gomez

70' - Yellow card shown to Wass for a shoulder into the back of Milla

73' - Yellow card shown to Rigoni for dissent

74' - Substitution for Valencia. Vallejo is replaced by Kang In Lee

75' - Guedes attempts to test the keeper from distance but misses the target.

77' - Substitution for Elche. Guido Carillo on, Rigoni off

80' - Substitution for Elche. Raul Guti is replaced by Victor Rodriguez

87' - Substitution for Valencia. Musah replaces Guedes

89 - Substitution for Valencia. Koba Lein replaces Racic due to injury

90' - Three minutes added by the referee for stoppages

90+1' - Yellow card shown to Victor Rodriguez for a heavy challenge on Kang In

90+3' - Guillamon does well to deny the cross from reaching its target.

FULL TIME

Full-time stats. 14-10 shots, 4-1 shots on target, 45-55% possession, 80-82% pass accuracy.

Despite, the uneventful second half, a very important three points were secured and some distance gained on the relegations spots. 

Valencia managed to hold onto their one goal lead for the entirety of the second half without conceding. The scoreline was much closer than they would've wanted and caused additional stress in the half.

Valencia's next game is away to Atheltic Bilbao on Sunday February 7th. The transfer window closes end on Feb 1st.

Copa del Rey Round of 16: Sevilla FC 3 - 0 Valencia CF Match Thread

PREVIEW

Sevilla put on a dominant display at home against Cadiz for their most recent fixture. They score 2 in the first half and one in the second, all scored by En-Nesyri to produce a 3-0 scoreline. 

Valencia's last game was against Atletico Madrid away from home and they suffered a 3-1 defeat. Valencia started it out well, scoring first through a long-range shot by Racic. Atletico tied it up in the first half through Joao Felix, who had got ahead of Correia in the corner to score. Valencia looked very good in the first half against the league leaders, but the second half was a different story. Atletico dominated the half and score 2, one from Suarez and the other from Correa, on the counter.

FORM (all competitions)

Sevilla: WWWLW

Valencia: LDWWW

SQUAD

In the pre-match press conference, Gracia said that there would be rotations this game but that it shouldn't be taken as a sign that they won't take the game seriously. He said he field a balance team and rest some others. 

Correia and Diakhaby have both picked up injuries in the last game and it remains to be seen whether they can start. 

Piccini has been cleared to participate, passing all health checks.

It was also reported that an undisclosed first team player may have tested positive for COVID after the game against Atletico. 

FIRST HALF

20' - Goal for Sevilla. 1-0. Luuk de Jong gets away from Racic and gets on the end of the Acuna's corner kick and heads it past Rivero

23' - Koba Lein wins the ball in midfield, turns past the opposing player and moves to the edge of the penalty area before striking at goal, hitting it directly at the keeper.

28' - Luuk de Jong with another dangerous chance at goal following a cross from Suso. The shot just falls on the wrong side of the post.

30' - Jason tries a shot from distance but it's very tame and hit directly at the keeper

33' - Goal for Sevilla. 2-0. Munir crosses the ball from the left to the opposite side where Suso controls before pulling it back for Luuk de Jong who finishes despite the presence of Guillamon

36' - Paulista gets really high up the field and plays a one-two with Alex Blanco before threading a through-ball behind the defender for Lato. The cross is delivered to Alex Blanco who hits it over the cross-bar. Best chance for Valencia.

39' - Goal for Sevilla. 3-0. Rakitic takes advantage of a deflection of Paulista to lob the ball over Rivero who was off his line.

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats. 9-4 shots, 4-2 shots on target, 66-34% possession, 91-84% pass accuracy.

Embarrassing half for Valencia. This was at best a training exercise for Sevilla. 

Regardless of the situation or the pressure of the season, there is no excuse for being humiliated like this against a rival team.

This could very well get way worse in the second half.

SECOND HALF

46' - Sevilla almost grab a 4th right off-the-bat as Joan Jordan heads the cross over the cross-bar

50' - Double substitution for Valencia. Paulista and Racic are replaced by Molina and Esquerdo

62' - Yellow card shown to Marcos Acuna for a tackle of Esquerdo

63' - Two changes for Sevilla. Suso and Jordan are replaced by Oliver Torres and Idrissi

68' - Double change for Sevilla. Acuna and Jesus Navas off, Rekik and Aleix Vidal on

80' - Yellow card shown to Aleix Vidal

85' - Change for Sevilla. En-Nesyri replaces de Jong

89' - Change for Valencia. Koba Lein picks an injury and is replaced by Musah

90' - Four minutes added by the referee for stoppages

90+1' - Yellow card shown to Munir for a skirmish with Lato

FULL-TIME

Full-time stats. 16-8 shots, 6-4 shots on target, 62-38% possession, 90-83% pass accuracy.

No improvement in the second half but not any worse either. The team managed to hold it at a 3-0 scoreline.

A game likes this raises several questions. Has Gracia had enough and is trying to get Lim to fire him so he avoid paying the penalty? OR has Lim ordered that the team not take this competition seriously as he was said to have done to Marcelino? OR is Gracia really incapable of changing the situation at this team.

As for what happens after the game, it remains to be seen what will happen to Gracia or in this transfer window in general as a consequence.

Next game for Valencia is against Elche at Mestalla on Saturday the 30th of January.

La Liga Matchday #20: Atletico Madrid 3 - 1 Valencia CF Match Thread

NEWS

Valencia have recovered Cristino Piccini from Atalanta this week by cutting his loan short. The player was largely unused in his time in Italy and agreed to a pay-cut to facilitate his arrival. Gracia welcomed his arrival saying that he will be reinforcing a position where they don't have a lot of strength. He added that he needs to evaluate Piccini's fitness level and decide how he can contribute the most to the team. Most likely this transfer will free up Wass and move him to a midfield or wide-midfield role.

The draw for the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey was made and Valencia drew Sevilla. It was decided that the game will be played at Sevilla's ground, adding to the difficulty of the challenge for Valencia.

The club also announced the renewal of Paulista's contract this week, extending his stay at Valencia to 2024.

PREVIEW

Atletico come into this game having beat Eibar away from home 1-2 in their last fixture. Atletico gave away a penalty 10 minutes in and strangely enough the keeper Dimitrovic took it and converted it. Five minutes from half-time a defensive error by the home team gave the ball away to Suarez in the penalty area who scored from a tight angle to even the game. The game would remain deadlocked until the final minute of full-time where a penalty was awarded to Atletico and Suarez would put it away to secure all 3 points.

Valencia's previous game was a rather dull 1-1 draw at home against Osasuna. Jonathan Calleri put the away side in the lead a few minutes from half-time from a counter-attack in which Osasuna would get more than one go at goal as their blocked shots would fall back to their own players until they scored. Valencia would get the equalizer after a link-up play between Musah and Maxi at the edge of the penalty area to penetrate the defense, however, the ball was put into the back of the net by Osasuna's own defender. 

Atletico are currently top of the league with 44 points from 17 games, while Valencia are 14th with 20 points from 19 games.

SQUAD

There were reports earlier this week that Racic was struggling with knee problems and Soler with ankle discomfort  in training. This put question marks on whether or not they would start. Koba Lein and Esquerdo's names was brought up in the pre-match press conference as a possible starter in their stead. However, it looks like both felt good enough to start with the academy players available on the bench if necessary.

Wass misses the game through supension caused by accumulation of yellow cards. Mangala seems to be out by technical decision and Cillissen is still dealing with his injury.

FIRST HALF

6' - Jaume produces a diving save in response to the Gimenez header following the corner but he puts it back into play. Thankfully Soler is the closest to it and can clear

8' - Valencia respond with a good chance of their own on the counter-attack. Cheryshev does well to beat his marker and pick out Vallejo with a through ball. Vallejo takes a shot from a tight angle and it is saved by Oblak. Cheryshev sets up another chance fooling his marker again and gets into the box and puts in a cross for Maxi Gomez but he cannot capitalize.

11' - Goal for Valencia! 0-1! Gaya squares the ball to Racic, just outside the penalty area and unmarked with no one stepping up to pressure him. Racic surprises everyone with a shot first time from range that curls away from Oblak and settles in the back of the net.

22' - Goal for Atletico Madrid. 1-1. Lemar's corner is sent to the far post. Joao Felix gets ahead of Correia and hits it at goal. Jaume gets a touch to it but cannot keep it out. VAR checks for a foul but none found.

30' - Yellow card shown to Vrsaljko for an elbow to a head on Vallejo

34' - A deflection of Soler sets the ball onto Llorente's path and gives him a shot from distance which takes another deflection on the way out

40' - Diakhaby is on-target with a header from a Soler corner kick

45' - Two minutes added by the referee for stoppages

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats. 5-3 shots, 2-3 shots on target, 51-49% possession, 79-80% pass accuracy

Valencia have done well to keep up with Atletico this first half. They took the game to them, pressured them and threatened them on the counter. 

Valencia took the lead in a unconventional way with a long-range shot from Racic catching Oblak off-guard as it curled away from him and into the net.

Atletico would equalize 10 minutes later with a poor defensive display from Correia as he allowed Joao Felix to get a head of him to meet the corner and beat Jaume. 

Racic has struggled with clear discomfort this game yet has barely put a foot wrong in this first half. He seems confident and decisive in his actions.

There were plenty of questionable moments from several players. Maxi Gomez took too long on the ball the Cheryshev supplied him early in the half, and allowed the defense time and space to regroup. The right side of the team looked very shaky with Correia losing the ball several times and being directly responsible for the goal. Musah has provided little off-the-ball. Paulista had a poor pass to Soler from the back that got away and set up a dangerous shot for Llorente. Gaya received the ball in plenty of time and space, yet produced one of the worst crosses so far, flying over everyone and to the opposite side. The performance overall was decent but Valencia needs to be even better against this Atletico team and Gracia has some work to do at half-time.

SECOND HALF

45' - Half-time substitution for Atletico. Renan Lodi replaces the booked Vrsaljko

46' - Diakhaby appears to have picked up an injury and signals to to the bench to replace him.

47' - First change for Valencia. The injured Diakhaby is replaced by Guillamon

54' - Goal for Atletico. 2-1. A diagonal ball from the back finds Joao Felix in plenty of space on the left flank. He drives the ball forward and threads a ball for Suarez in the penalty box. Suarez goes for the shot by himself and beats Jaume from a rather narrow angle.

58' - Second substitution for Valencia. Cheryshev off, Guedes on.

62' - Substitution for Atletico. Joao Felix is replaced by Angel Correa

72' - Goal for Atletico. 3-1. Carrasco picks out Llorente on the right flank with a through ball. He gets forward and into the box before pulling the ball back for Correa who pokes it past Jaume.

74' - Substitution for Atletico. Llorente off, Kondogbia on.

76' - Yellow card shown to Savic for a late challenge on Guedes

79' - Final changes for Valencia. Musah, Racic and Vallejo are replaced by Jason, Koba Lein and Gameiro

85' - Final change for Atletico. Thomas Lemar off, Lucas Torreira on

87' - Torreira wins the ball from Gaya near the goal-line, finds Correa who makes a similar attempt to his goal but this time it's saved

90' - Three minutes added by the referee for stoppages

90+3' - Correia seems to have picked up an injury as he chased the ball to prevent the Atletico player from going clean through on goal.

FULL-TIME

Full-time stats. 14-8 shots, 5-4 shots on target, 49-51% possession, 81-82% pass accuracy

A very poor second half. After working so hard in the first half, the team was undone in the second. An early injury to Diakhaby was the first disturbance to the team. Soon after, the space left by Correia was exploited by Joao Felix who set up Suarez for the goal. 

Valencia did not have much say in what went on after, with Atletico getting forward time and time again while they absorbed the pressure. The introduction of Guedes for Cheryshev was not effective and Atletico sensed the drop in performance from the team and took advantage. The third goal was only a matter of time, this time from the opposite flank with Llorente setting up a good chance for Correa. 

A fourth goal was very likely still and with 10 minutes left to go, Gracia threw on three substitutions, none of which did enough to move the pendulum of the game one bit. Atletico got their best chance a few minutes from full-time with a similar chance to their third goal but couldn't finish this time.

Two more names added to the injury list, Diakhaby and Correia, will hardly please Gracia as he deals with the challenges ahead with a limited squad.

Based on today's second half performance and the mentality shown by the players, it is tough to see any of the names rumored for transfers, to be make that significant of an impact. 

Valencia's next game is away from home against Sevilla on Wednesday the 27th for the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.

Official: Cristiano Piccini returns from loan

 Valencia have made it official through their website and social media that they have reached an agreement with Atalanta to cut-short the loan of Piccini and have him return to Valencia. Piccini was set to stay for 1-year with the Italian club with a possible 3 million euro purchase option but they have barely used him in their games. With the player desperate to return and Valencia looking for low-cost reinforcements, the transfer was complete.

The where are they now of the Lim era part 3: attackers

The last part of the series on everyone who played in a competitive game for the first team and then left. Part one: here and part two: here.

 Iban Salvador. Had a “blink and you’ll miss it” cameo, playing the last 10 minutes of the Copa 2^nd leg against Barcelona in 2016. By chance that was also the last game of 3 others on these lists: Diallo, Zahibo and Villalba. As we’d lost 7-0 in the first leg, how many of us watched that? Released that summer, he’s been with a few clubs since. Valladolid, who loaned him to Murcia and Leonesa, before he transferred on a free to Celta reserves. After a season there, he joined his current club, second level Fuenlabrada, in 2019. He has at least broken into the Equatorial Guinea national team and scored the only goal in a crucial African Nations cup tie against Libya last November. 

Vinicius Araujo. Always looked like a mid-season panic buy, with Valencia playing 3.5 million to Cruziero for him in January 2014. After 6 unsuccessful appearances, a series of loans followed as Valencia tried to recover some cash. After the loans at Liege, former club Cruziero and Brazilian club Sport didn’t work out, he made a surprise brief return to Valencia. Played in the dead rubber second leg of the Copa at Celta (after we’d lost the 1^st leg 1-4) and even scored his only Valencia goal. That was his swan song. Loaned to Huesca a week later and joined Zaragoza on a free later that year. An unsuccessful season there meant he returned to Brazil for a similarly unsuccessful stint with Vasco, who loaned him to Avai. He finally saw some success last season at Montedio Yamagata of the Japanese second division. He’s certainly travelled around.  

Munir. Joined on loan in summer 2016 to cover Alcacer’s departure. Did finish as joint top scorer with Rodrigo, but 7 goals in 25 games wasn’t enough for Valencia to even consider the 12 million option. After returning to Barcelona he hardly played and joined Alaves on loan where the prat celebrated scoring against us in the Copa as though he’d won the world cup. Moved permanently to Sevilla where he’s established himself well.

Alcacer. A player who was developing well into the talisman of the Valencia side so it was a sickener how he left and how badly handled it was. A chaotic exit with Lay Han Choon being undermined by her boss, who first told her he wasn’t leaving and then negotiated a sale to Barcelona after that. Most well know his history so I won’t dwell on it. Controversial exit. Struggles at Barcelona where he was behind Messi, Suarez and Neymar. Did well at Dortmund, now also doing well at Villarreal. A sad tale of the mismanagement and chaos at Valencia summed up in one player.

Negredo. Valencia’s record signing at the time for 30 million. How would The Bomb do? He lived up to his name, but not in a good way, as a financial bomb. He’s subsequently said that joining Valencia was a mistake and he’ll not find any Valencia fans arguing with him. A loan season at Middlesbrough proved unspectacular and he moved to Besiktas in Turkey but eventually lost his starting place. Their financial problems meant he lasted only a season. Two prolific years at Al-Nasr in Dubai followed before he returned to Cadiz for this season.

Nani. After a couple of middling seasons, we tried and failed to recover cash with a loan to Lazio. He was then released to return to Sporting Lisbon. After a single season there joined Orlando in the MLS in 2019 and is still there.

Zaza. Who can forget this guy?

Eyebrows raised when he was first linked with us. Despite his flaws, left a positive impression at the Mestalla and had a real purple patch, equalling the most-games-in-a-row scoring record. That turned out to be a blip as his goals dried up, with just 3 goals in his last 24 games. To the consternation of many fans, he was moved on to join Torino for 14 million. In hindsight, it looks like a wise decision as his scoring rate hasn’t improved: just 15 goals from 70 games in his three seasons there. 

Vietto. After being linked with Valencia for a long time (we had a buy option on him as part of the signing of DePaul, but didn’t use it) finally joined on loan in January 2018. Started spectacularly with a hat-trick in his second game, a Copa win over Las Palmas which included a goal from the halfway line. Just 2 goals in the next 17 games followed, we declined the 16 million option and he was loaned to Fulham, managing just a single goal in 22 games. Then joined Sporting Lisbon, who he’d rejected to join us. They sold him for 7 million to Saudi club Al-Hilal last year.

Batshuayi. After 3 decent seasons at Marseilles, Chelsea and Dortmund, looked a great loan pick up. What could go wrong? Everything. He seemed sluggish, overweight and off the pace. He seemed to unbalance the team and after his loan was cut short, results flowed for Valencia. Looked like he’d got his revenge by scoring a late winner for Chelsea at Ajax in our Champions league group but it wasn’t to be. Loaned to Palace where his 6 goals in 26 games are hardly setting the world on fire.

Rodrigo. A slow burner. Looked like a useless and expensive bust in his early seasons where he was misused on the wings. Began to show some form in the Ayestaran-Prandelli era where he moved to central striker in a 4-3-3 but then got injured. It was only with the arrival of Zaza and switch to 4-4-2 that he began to produce. His linkup play between midfield and attack are sorely missed. Just 3 goals in 15 games for a Leeds side that have been struggling recently.

Santi Mina. After a slow start, won the fans over with a super sub role producing goals, though I doubt anyone misses the LeBron James celebration which he overused? Has hardly excelled at Celta since returning there. Marked his 50^th appearance since rejoining Celta this week with a goal but that’s only his 2^nd of the season and 8^th overall. Does have 3 from 3 in the Copa against lower division sides, but he’s well below the potential he started to show at Valencia.

Rafa Mir. Along with Danilo Barbosa, the poster child for critics who complained that Mendes had too much influence at Valencia. His highly controversial selection for a crunch Champions league game at Zenit arguably sealed the end for Nuno, who resigned the game after. Mir's relationship with the fans soured and after an abortive attempt to join Real Madrid, rejoined Nuno at Wolves in the second level but only got 4 games. Has since had loan spells at Las Palmas, Nottingham Forest and Huesca, with only his last season with them in the Spanish second flight really impressing.

Valencia 1-1 Osasuna match thread

Not sure where my co-host is, so here's a placeholder match thread. Valencia come into the game on the back of three wins in a row, though it's less impressive than it sounds as two were in the Copa against teams from the Segunda and Segunda B. Good news is that Paulista is back, while Soler and Gaya have overcome injury doubts. 

For our opponents, there are a couple of familiar faces: Nacho Vidal, who saw game time under Marcelino and Facundo Roncaglia, who was on loan with us for half a season.

They come into this game with an awful record of 0-5-7. On paper, that makes Valencia big favourites, but so often this season and in previous years, we've upped our game against the big sides and then squandered what should have been easy points against weaker opponents. Nothing less than 3 points and a convincing win would be acceptable tonight.

EVENTS

2 - Oh my Lord, is that Thierry? What a surprise haircut.
4 - Nice tackle from Paulista, though it was offside. Nice to see him back.

5 - Commentator says Nacho Vidal is 25, I thought he was only 20-21.
6 - Diakhaby showing more confidence coming forward, but then midfield mess up. He fouls the guy with a dangerous break on. Yellow? No, play on.
8 - Two crosses from Cheryshev, but Osasuna, who look like theyr're playing 5 or 6 at the back, get it away.
10 - First corner from them and Racic beaten too easily but luckily off target.
11 - Unlucky. Great cross field pass from Diakhaby to Soler who's fouled. Their keeper punches away and Racic can't get it through a forest of bodies. 
14 - we mess about, as we often do wasting a corner playing it short, leading to a dangerous counter for them broken by a great tackle from Gaya.
15 - Oh dear. Maxi and Cheryshev both fumble a one on one chance. Ok, it's later whistled offside but come on guys. Instead of celebrating, the Osasuna coach gets himself sent off. Duh!
20 - a scrappy few minutes. They get a cross in but Jaume collects easily.
21 - Just hit it! Wass with a great chance to shoot overcomplicates things and tries to find Maxi. Chance wasted. Gracia hops up and down like an angry kangaroo.

24 - Ooo, I don't like that, Torres of Osasuna is found on the right in way too much space. Luckily he's not very good and it ends in row Z, but need to tighten up.
25 - Another nice chance, good break on the left but Gaya's cross is deflected behind. The corner finds Diakhaby well but his header is straight at the keeper.
28 - Decent ball across the box from Cheryshev but no one gets there.
32 - Noticeable that all our attacks are coming from the left. Gaya blunders a good chance by sending it out. Wass and Thierry need to be more involved.
33 - Wow, Diakaby's passing is really improving. An excellent upfield ball finds Kangin, but he handles.
35 - This doesn't look good. Racic hurts his knee in a 50-50 tackle. Koba warms up.
37 - my heart stops when we mess around passing about our area with them nearby. Racic is back.
39 - Ufff. A good cross, again from the left, but Wass, pressured by a defender, can't get a good enough touch.
41 - Awful. We switch off as they take a quick free kick, the defence doesn't cover the overlap and after a pinball in the box, Nacho Vidal's shot is blocked by the keeper but Calleri fires home, Valencia down 0-1.
43 - that sums it up, Valencia try and hit back and have lots of time on the left but squander the cross hitting it too long.
44 - we seem to have decided that we need 2 or 3 guys standing over a free kick instead of having them on the end of it. Free kick goes nowhere anyway.

HALF TIME. Poor. We've been the better side but without creating many clear chances, while they mug us at the other end. Not sure that the mooted return of Piccini will help much, but the right side of Wass-Thierry has done little this game.

46 Not to be alarmist but losing these type of games are the ones that you look back on when you go down. Cheryshev starts us off with another overhit cross.
48 - good shot from outside from Kangin but Maxi can't do anything from an angle and the corner is wasted
51 - sixth Valencia corner to their one. Nothing doing again and Osasuna have half a chance at a counter from it.
53 - Scary. Both Diakhaby and Thierry mess up and misread a pass, but they sky a shot.
54 - we start to look shaky at the back. Martinez from them fluffs a shot.
57 - the pattern for most of the last 10 minutes has been: we come forward, scratch our heads when confronted by a wall of Osasuna shirts, give away possession and face a dangerous counter. Luckily, Osasuna are not very good either, but they lead.
59 - Gameiro on for Kang-In and Musah for Racic, who may have a slight injury.
60 - Geez. Nearly 0-2. More poor marking leaves Torres with a great chance but terrific save from Jaume. That one's on Paulista, who looks off the pace.

64 - Osasuna's tactic is generally to stand off, give Valencia lots of possession and ask "what you gonna do?" The Valencia reply: "nothing!" Final ball really lacking.
65 - Uuuuyyy. Good shot from Maxi forces a save.
66 - Commentator says that Maxi and Roncaglia know each other very well from their time at Valencia. Fact check: they never played together at Valencia but did at Celta.
67 - Guedes on for Cheryshev.
69 - YESSSS! Nice link up with Musah and Maxi and Yunus' attempted cross is deflected in. 1-1. Game on.
72 - Unlucky! First Nacho Vidal nearly heads a second own goal under pressure, then from the corner Guedes' attempt is just wide.
74 - Triple sub for them, Vallejo looks the only guy on our bench that could improve this for us.
76 - Guedes twice caught in possession in our own half, but fortunately we get the cross away. 

78 - Please! Nice link up with Gaya and Guedes but Gaya's shot/cross goes just wide.
80 - as usual, we prat around with a short corner and waste it. Kick. Ball. Into. Box.
83 - Manu time? No one is passing to Gameiro and Maxi is drawing more offside flags than chances. Do it Gracia.
84 - Heart in mouth, first their shot is tipped by Jaume on to the post (looks offside on a replay) then their cross provides a dangerous header. 
89 - both teams look tired and error prone. Valencia wasteful in possession.
90 - Osasuna look more likely to nick it and head just wide.
91 - should we hope for the whistle? We fumble around outside their area, Guedes loses it and a dangerous counter is just thwarted by Jaume.
92 - Man! We have a great counter but it just gets tangled up in Yunus' feet. Great chance wasted. Corner which Diakabhy heads over.

FULL TIME
Hugely disappointing result against a relegation contender. You can see on the players' faces how much this stings but the performance wasn't good enough. Lack of imagination and incisiveness and while some individual performances were fine, our defence started to look weak as the game went on. Gaya got caught advanced a number of times and Paulista didn't look with it. Copa draw tomorrow. The next 4 league games provide little cheer: Bilbao, rejuvenated by Marcelino and both Madrids with a home game against Elche. Lastly, to answer the burning question, Nacho Vidal will be 26 on Sunday. 

The "where are they now?" of the Lim era part 2: midfielders

Continuing our trip down memory lane of players who had competitive minutes with the first team since Lim took over but have left us. Obviously some of these guys played in more than one position. 

Left wingers

Bakkali a flair player who won over the Mestalla faithful, but his defensive contributions were lacking and as a result he only started 5 of the 40 games he played for us. After a loan at Depor, returned to his native Belgium at Anderlecht in 2018 and played half the games in his first season. Injury sidelined him for most of 2019-20 and since returning, he’s been out of favor, only playing 2 games this season.

Sito. Made his debut in the last game of the 2015-16 season, replacing the injured Piatti in the 38^th minute. (That would be Piatti’s last ever Valencia game, more on him in a minute.) Sito played a single minute the following season and that was it for him. Loaned to Lorca and then released on a free to join his current club, Asteras Tripolis of the Greek top division where he’s begun to establish himself.

Piatti. We hotly debated his merits for ages on this blog. Valencia sold him for the usual scandalously low price to Espanyol. Debuted with a goal and 2 assists and had a sensational debut season ending with 10 goals and 11 assists. Saw reduced returns after that, though, and injuries recurred. Another injury February 2019 kept him out for most of that year. In January 2020 he was released and now plays for Toronto in the MLS.

Nacho Gil. Made his debut in February 2017 and then began to see some game time and starts under Marcelino. Doubts crept in and he was part of the controversial experimental line-up which flopped badly away to Las Palmas in January 2018. That would be his last game. Joined Elche on loan the following week before being released in the summer to join second level Ponferradina. After 2 seasons there he joined Cartagena who had been newly promoted to the second level. Has been a regular as they fight relegation. 

Central midfielders

Bruno Zuculini. Joined us on loan from Man City in Nuno’s first season but only played half a game. Loan was cancelled mid-season and a series of loans in Spain, England and Greece followed. Permanently joined Hellas Verona of Greece in 2017 but only lasted a year before returning to his native Argentina with River Plate.

Felipe Augusto. Represented by, you guessed it, Mendes. Nuno brought him with him from Rio Ave. After a few sub appearances, started his only game, a disastrous 3-0 defeat at Depor and was subbed off at half time. (That game also ended the Valencia career of Yoel.) After a couple of sub appearances in December he never played another minute the rest of the season. Returned to Portugal and was loaned out to Braga before a permanent move to Benfica. They in turn loaned him to Turkish top flight side Alanyaspor. He was then sold back to Rio Ave where he was a regular until dropping out of the team last month.

Carles Gil. One of the first to depart under Nuno, joining Aston Villa in January 2015. He had a decent enough spell there but returned to Spain in summer 2016 for two years at Depor. Then moved permanently to the MLS to play for New England Revolution, where he’s a regular.

Fran Villalba. Attracted a lot of buzz after emerging in 2015 but never made it. His last game was the dead rubber Copa 2^nd leg vs Barca (incidentally also the last game for 3 others on these lists.) After spending all of 2018-19 on loan at Numancia, he joined Birmingham City permanently, though with Valencia reserving half his rights. After an ok season there he’s been back in Spain since summer 2019 on loan at Almeria , who have a buy option.

Enzo Perez. One of many expensive busts for 25 million. He started well, but there were always questions over his fitness and after 2 years, Valencia cut their losses and transferred him on the cheap to River Plate where he’s a regular.

Danilo Barbosa. Controversial Mendes addition for the 2015-16 season where he was a regular, playing 32 games. Valencia rightly declined the 15 million buy option. Returned to Braga who loaned him out to Benfica and Liege. Surprisingly, Braga did get a decent fee of 10 million for him from Nice in 2018. He was a regular for them in the first season but gradually fell down the pecking order, being used as emergency cover at central defence and has only played 4 games this season with talk of a transfer.

Wilifried Zahibo.

Broke through in the Neville era and got 7 games, starting 6 of them, even managing a goal in the Copa against Granada. But the Copa 2^nd leg against Barcelona with Valencia well eliminated already would be his final game. Left after one season and played at the second level with Gimnastic. After 2 seasons there he moved to the MLS with New England Revolution for 2 seasons. Spent last season with Houston Dynamo, but only played 4 games. His contract there expired last month and was not renewed, so he is now a free agent.

Tropi. Mestalla player who made his La Liga debut, and his only top flight appearance in the 89^th minute at Elche in March 2015. Got a couple of late sub appearances under Neville in Copa and Europa league the following season. Has had a journeyman existence since then. Year-long loans at Alcorcon and Lorca. Signed by Recreativo Huelva but released after the 2018-19 season. Atletico Madrid reserves signed him for 2019-20 before he joined third level UCAM Murcia last autumn, where he is a regular.  

Andre Gomes. The transfer to Barcelona, though it brought in 37 million ultimately, really stung, especially since the 2 guys that follow on this list were not up to the task of replacing him. Had a torrid time at Barcelona before a loan at Everton became permanent. Was a regular at Everton in his first season, even after overcoming a horror injury but has struggled for game time this season being used more as a sub.

Alvaro Medran. Bought in summer 2016 as a very cheap replacement for Andre Gomes. Though he showed some early promise, lacked the consistency to be a regular, making 19 appearances and scoring 3 times. Started in Marcelino’s first game in charge in 17/18 but that would be his final appearance. Went to Alaves on loan where a managerial change proved disastrous for him, leading to him infamously breaking down in tears in a post-match interview. After another loan at Rayo, he joined Chicago Fire on a free, where he’s a regular.

Mario Suarez. As I said in the previous post, if Simeone says you’re past it, you are. Joined on loan from Watford in summer 2016 with a buy option to replace the departed Fuego. Was a regular for the first half of the season without convincing. With Voro taking over and Soler’s emergence he was deemed unnecessary and didn’t even play a single minute after February 2017. Joined Guizhou in China that year before returning to Spain with Rayo in 2019. Was a regular the first season but now struggles for game time, used as a sub mostly.

Javi Fuego. After 3 ok years with us, joined Espanyol. 2 seasons later spent a single season at Villarreal where he featured rarely as he spent most of the season injured. Released by them, he dropped down a level to join Gijon where he’s ever present. Considering he turned 37 earlier this month, that’s not bad going for a midfielder.

Maksimovic. Was a good pick-up on a free from Astana but got frustrated at lack of game time behind the next 3 guys on this list and left to join Getafe where he’s done very well. It’s a shame because with the current state of our midfield, he’d be a useful player to have.

Parejo. His departure for no money and the manner of it: tossed out as if he was no one when he was actually a loyal, long time club servant, still annoys. Has been a regular at Villarreal this season.

Coquelin. Not going so well for him up the coast. Has really struggled for game time, with brief sub appearances the norm since October and for the last 5 games he’s played 4 minutes and hasn’t even been in the match squad the other 4.

Kondogbia. I hope he gets more money at Atletico because he’s certainly losing game time. Hasn’t played more than 27 minutes in a league game since joining them and didn’t even play the last 3 games.

Right wingers

Fede Cartabia, played both wings. Joined us at age 13 and made a decent breakthrough for 2013-14, playing 40 games. But fell out of favor and a couple of seasons of loans followed. Made a surprise return to Valencia in summer 2016 but only lasted the first half of the season. Released on a free and returned to Depor, where he got reasonable game time, but was loaned out to Braga and then last season to Al-Ahli of Dubai in the UAE. Still there but out of favour. Another promising youth player who never quite made it.

Feghouli. After 6 reasonable seasons with us, he fell out with the club at the end and left for a season at West Ham. Moved to Galatasaray in 2017 and is still there, recently passing 120 games for them.

Orellana. Joined in January 2017 and started well, with a winner against Real Madrid but was then frozen out and left to join Eibar. After two and a half reasonable seasons there, moved to Valladolid for this season.

Ferran. Doing well at Man City. Too painful to write any more.

DePaul. Another one that got away. After a brief spell back at his boyhood club Racing he moved to Udinese where he’s highly rated and played 165 games to date.

Andreas Pereira. His loan spell with us ended sourly as it became obvious we weren’t going to buy him and he responded by sulking. Returned to Man United and saw decent game time last season but is now on loan at Lazio.

Rober. Made sporadic sub appearances in Nuno’s first season before heading out on loan for a couple of seasons at Granada and Leganes. Made a brief return and scored his only senior goal in his final appearance in a Copa win over Zaragoza. Joined Getafe in January 2018 but was barely used and moved to Osasuna on loan a year later. Their promotion for 2019-20 triggered a buy clause but he didn’t play much after that. They loaned him out to second tier Leganes for this season.

The "where are they now?" of the Lim era part 1: goalkeepers and defenders

 Just for something different. I was looking over my spreadsheets of player appearances recently and wondering what had happened to some of those guys post-Valencia and decided to do a couple of nostalgia driven posts on it. This is the full lowdown on every former player who kicked a ball in a competitive game with the first team since Lim took over in 2014. Salva Ruiz and Michel, who were registered but never played, are not counted, nor are the guys currently out on loan (Jimenez, Piccini and Guerrero.) 

GOALKEEPERS

Diego Alves: it almost became a ritual: dubious penalty whistled, Alves played mind games with the taker and, to the roar of Mestalla, saved it half the time. Injured the last game of 2014-15 season and never recovered his previous form. He’s now back home in Brazil playing for Flamengo and still saving half the penalties.

Matt Ryan: signed to cover Diego’s injury, got injured himself early on at Valencia and that effectively killed off his Valencia career as he found himself fighting for the number 1 spot with Jaume and then with Alves when he returned. After just 10 league appearances, joined Brighton where he did well until this season when he fell out of favor and is now transfer listed.

Yoel: signed as backup and never recovered from a disastrous performance at Deportivo followed by letting in 4 in the Copa. Even the injuries to Alves and Matt Ryan failed to give him game time as Jaume was preferred. Loaned out to Rayo and Eibar, being bought by the latter, who also put him out on loan to Valladolid. Now just a back-up at Eibar.

Neto: early questions were asked when he seemed static as goals went in past him, but established himself as a reliable keeper. It all ended weirdly with him getting the huff with Marcelino when Jaume was maintained for the Copa. His time at Barcelona hasn’t convinced and he’s recently been asking to leave to get more game time. Safe to say the Cillessen-Neto swap, which seemed a good idea at the time, hasn’t worked out for anyone.

LEFT BACKS
Lucas Orban: signed from Bordeaux, his Valencia career got off to a dream start when he came on as a late sub and scored an equaliser against Sevilla in Nuno’s first game in charge. His only goal for the club. Though he got a few games in the middle of that season, he struggled to establish himself and left on loan to Levante before moving permanently to Genoa. After struggling for game time there, returned to his native Argentina where he now plays for River Plate.

Siquiera: if Simeone thinks you’re past it, he’s usually right. Signed in Jan 2016 to cover at left back even though Lato was showing promise. Got game time at the end of 15-16 but didn’t convince and ended injured. When he returned he struggled for games with Lato and even Montoya preferred when Gaya was unavailable. Valencia did not take up the buy option and Atletico Madrid released him. After a year without a club, retired in 2018.

Jaume Costa: after his loan year with us, back at Villarreal where he’s still a back-up who rarely plays.

DEFENDERS
Ibrahim Diallo: signed for Mestalla as a promising youth from Eupen in Summer 2015. Played 4 games in the Copa, two of them the full 90 minutes, one the dead rubber second leg against Barca after we had been crushed 7-0. Lacking game time, returned to Eupen and played most of 2016-17, but suffered a horrific knee injury at the start of 2017-18. After 2 and a half years of various treatments proved unsuccessful and he hadn’t played a minute, he retired last summer at the age of 23. Now works as a video analyst for Eupen.

Vezo: Had a lengthy spell of six seasons at the club and I was sorry to see him go for while he was never amazing, he was always a useful backup. He got fed up of that role and joined Levante where he’s been getting the game time he lacked. 

Otamendi: best defender we have had in the last decade, he of course abandoned us after 1 season to join Man City and was doing fine there until cracks started to appear and fell out of favor. Despite being linked with a Valencia return many times, he’s now back in Portugal at Benfica.

Mustafi: formed a decent partnership with Otamendi before joining Arsenal in a deal which eventually saw Paulista, Coquelin and 14 million come the other way. After a good start at Arsenal, it fell apart and he’s now the butt of jokes among their fans who will be happy to move him on.

Abdennour: signed as Otamendi’s replacement on the strength of a good season at Monaco he quickly alienated the Mestalla faithful with error heavy performances. With Garay and Mangala arriving it was game over and Valencia attempted to recover some money with a loan to Marseilles. After he failed there, he was released and spent a year in Turkey at Kayserispor where he also didn’t convince. They released him on a free to Qatari club Umm Salal where he at least gets some game time though his career is effectively over at top level.

Santos: awful signing that we blew 10 million of the Otamendi money on. After even making Abdennour look like a great signing he was loaned out to Brazilian clubs and then Valencia apparently got some money from Al Ahli for him. After not impressing there, they let him return to Portugal, to Rio Ave, on a free.

Jeison Murillo: always a mystery why it didn’t happen for him at the Mestalla as he looked a solid 3^rd choice defender. Loaned out to Barcelona, where he played just a single game and then to Sampdoria. Joined the latter permanently, struggled for game time and now plays regularly on loan at Celta.

Roncaglia: after the strange decision not to give Murillo game time, Roncaglia was brought in on loan to cover. Looked error prone and got sent off at Girona so it was no surprise that his time with us ended after half a season.

Garay: probably the best defender of the Lim era after Otamendi. Started to become too injury prone but was ultimately a victim of the internal club politics. Though he’s recovered from last year’s injury, he remains without a club.

RIGHT BACKS
Barragan: despite never being great, had a long 5 seasons with us. Sold to Middlesbrough in summer 2016. After not impressing there, returned to Spain with Betis who released him to join Elche last summer.

Montoya: Barragan’s replacement. Proved no better and not an answer to the club’s long lack of a decent right back. After teaming up with Matt Ryan in Brighton he returned to Spain last year with Betis.

Nacho Vidal: broke through under Marcelino and was even touted as one of the best Spanish young players but a few iffy performances led to him being dropped and he left for Osasuna where he’s been a regular.

Cancelo: big money transfer to Italy followed by another big money transfer to Man City. His career is going well.

Florenzi: should have gone better for him than it did, but injury and the general chaos at the club meant that his loan becoming permanent was never an option. Doing well with PSG now.

Copa del Rey Round of 32: AD Alcorcón 0 - 2 Valencia CF Match Thread

 PREVIEW

Alcoron played their previous game 11 days ago against Real Zaragoza in the 2nd round of the Copa del Rey. After going down a goal with the first 5 minutes, they managed to respond and score on the other side of the half, 2 minutes before half-time. The deadlock would remain until the 89th minute when Alcoron grabbed the winner to finish the game 2-1.

Valencia's previous game was one week ago in La Liga, away against Real Valladolid; a game that they won 0-1. While Valencia had plenty of chances to win the game, it would take a Carlos Soler long range shot to break the tied game. Valencia almost grabbed a second but Manu Vallejo's goal had been overturned due to an offside in the buildup. He would get another really good chance moment later but he couldn't finish it. After a nervy ending to the half in which Valladolid struck the woodwork in injury time, Valencia managed to survive and got their first win in 2 months in the competition.

FORM (all competitions)

Alcoron: WLWWD

Valencia: WWDLL

SQUAD

Gracia, in the pre-match press conference also provided some updates on injuries. Gaya will miss this game as a precaution measure, after suffering some discomfort. in training. Cillissen is making good progress in his recovery. Gameiro should be rejoining training shortly. Gabriel Paulista is in his final stages of recovery as well. In the best case, Gracia expects everyone but Cillissen to be available for the next La Liga game.

FIRST HALF

2' - Early yellow card shown to Hugo Guillamon for a rash challenge.

12' - Goal for Valencia! 0-1! Valencia with a quick counter-attack following the Alcorcon corner kick. Vallejo carries the ball forward with speed and finds Koba Lein in space, setting up a 1v1 against the keeper who comes out to deal with him. Koba takes the shot early, the keeper gets a touch to it but cannot keep it out of the net.

34' - Yellow card shown to Reko for a rough challenge.

42' - Yellow card shown to Jaunma Bravo for taking down Guedes from behind

45 '- One minute of time added by the referee for stoppages

SECOND HALF

46' - Yellow card shown to Thierry Correia for a rough challenge

47'  - Substitution for Alcorcon. Carlos Bellvis off, Jose Suarez on

54' - Yellow card shown to Sosa for a dangerous challenge on Correia

61' - Triple substitution for Alcorcon. Reko, Alvaro Juan, and Sosa off, Boateng, Ale Lamas and Oscar Arribas on

66' - Double change for Valencia. Diakhaby and Alex Blanco replace Guillamon and Guedes

72' - Great piece of individual skill from Racic. He dispossessed the defender on the flank, beat another and then cut inside into the box before curling a shot to the far post. He shot hit the post and moved away from danger. Really close to a second goal

74' - Another opportunity missed at a second goal. Musah did well to get the ball forward on the right flank under pressure from his marker. He put in a cross to the center where Vallejo was waiting but the defender takes down Vallejo and the ball falls to Alex Blanco instead who has shot saved by the keeper.

76' - Goal for Valencia! 0-2! Manu Vallejo with a great free kick that curls around the wall, and squeezes just inside the post. Keeper was sent the wrong way. Good work from Racic to win the free kick in a dangerous position.

78' - Double substitution for Valencia. Vallejo and Musah are replaced by Kang In Lee and Jason

85' - Final change for Valencia. Gullem Molina replaces Thierry Correia. Final change for Alcorcon, Castro off, Victor Garcia on

90' - Two minutes added by the referee for stoppages.

90+2' - Llamas attempts to catch Rivero, who was off his line, off-guard with a long-range shot from midfield. Rivero gets back in time and tips it over the crossbar.

FULL-TIME

Full-time stats. 10-14 shots, 5-4 shots on target, 48-52% possession, 78-79% pass accuracy.

Valencia qualify to the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey with a solid display against Alcorcon. They scored 2 great goals, one from open play and the other from a set piece and managed to keep a clean sheet. This was all done away from home, where Valencia hasn't had the best time this season, and while resting many first team players.

Valencia's next game is on Thursday the 21st at Mestalla against Osasuna.