Valencia CF 2-0 Villarreal CF Match Report

Valencia CF finally records a win after 7 matches in which the team only managed a measly 3 points! The win comes at the expense of Villarreal CF who were in a similar position to Valencia CF and both teams needed a win to set the course right! 

I got to be honest I didn't think Valencia CF deserved to win, I think we were just a bit more lucky today, I think the fairest result would have been a draw, but hey I'll take a win wherever I can. 

Uros Racis started the match in place for Carlos Soler as the coach obviously didn't want to risk him, Foulquier also started instead of Correia, though both players were eventually subbed in and got to play. We had a similar lineup to previous ones, with the standard back 4, Hugo serving as a defensive midfielder, while Wass and Uros Racic playing a bit more forward, with Helder Costa and Guedes on the flanks and Marcos Andre as the sole forward. 

The match was fairly equal from the start with both teams fighting for control of the midfield, but Villarreal CF exerted more dominance in the early stages and dominated possession for long periods of time, with Valencia CF relegated to defending. Villarreal would have the first more serious opportunity in the 28th minute with Arnaut Danjuma having a shot at goal that went just wide. 

Then in the 41st minute Serge Aurier volleys the ball towards goal, but Cillessen is able to just reach it and deflects the shot, saving an almost certain goal there. 

Valencia CF looked destined to lose once again, with the team barely having 28% ball possession and most of the attacks were coming from Villerral CF who looed more likely to score, but in what was a individual bit of skill Hugo Guillamon received the ball in a good position and lobbed the goalkeeper to put Valencia CF ahead.

Second half was pretty much a carbon copy of the first, Villarreal were trying to find the equalizer, but just weren't too dangerous in attack, while Valencia CF was contempt to sit back and occasionally attack through counter attacks. Then in the 77th minute Foulquier rushed into the penalty area to intercept a ball, but an opposition player hit him instead of the ball, prompting the referee to award Valencia CF a penalty! 

Carlos Soler stepped to the penalty spot, he sent a rather weak shot right in the center, but the goalkeeper essentially jumped before seeing the shot, and went too far on the side. 

The last 15 minutes of the match were basically injuries after injuries, mostly for Valencia's players, but there doesn't seem to be anything serious, except for Paulista who might have renewed the injury he had before the match and might be out for the next match, but we'll have to wait and see. 

So there you have it, a 2-0 win over a direct rival and finally a win under our belt, but it felt a bit lucky, it felt a little bit undeserved. We were completely outplayed in every department, but with a little bit of individual skill and luck we managed to get a win. I think the play needs to seriously improve if we are to stand a chance against any team. 

Valencia CF vs Villarreal CF Match Preview

Valencia CF will 'welcome' Villarreal CF at the Mestalla today at 18:30 in what is a key match for Valencia CF as the team has not recorded a single win in the past 7 matches, and what is even more worrying is that the gameplay just isn't there. While at the beginning of the season and even against Real Madrid the team looked solid and capable of winning, this has not been the case in the past 6 matches, in most of them Valencia CF having to fight back from a deficit and barely scramble a draw and in many cases it hasn't been able to even manage a draw!

I think the issues are clear to Jose Bordalas, he knows what they are, but the difficult part will be fixing them! I wrote an article saying that its time to go back to basics, basically start from the ground up and just work on rudimentary stuff, along with just playing a lot of short matches to gel the team. My biggest issue is that the team never seems like a one whole, we are never really playing like a team, its always just a few players kind of randomly passing the ball around and essentially having individual talent win or rescue games for us. 

I've not seen a consistent and persistent systematic attack or systematic passing of the ball, both back and forth and trying to find holes in the defense, we string a few passes together and most of the time either lose the ball or have no end product. We need to retain the ball if there is no good option and pass it around, forward and back, then side to side and we need to have all of our players opening up to receive the ball, including the forwards, including the back. 

Jose Bordalas is on the right track in identifying the problems, he recently stated that players just wait for the ball to come to their feet and that is just not realistic, he is absolutely right, they need to be running for every ball, running to intercept passes and not just standing in one position and waiting for the pass to perfectly come to their legs! 

Good news for Valencia CF is that Villarreal CF aren't any better and thus this will be an interesting match and a step forward for one team and even further step back for the other. Looking at the statistics Valencia CF has scored 3 more goals than Villarreal CF, but its also conceded way more goals 17 to the 10 of Villareal. Valencia CF also has a worse possession as well as a miserable 74% pass rate, compared to the 60% possession rate and 86% percent pass rate for Villarreal. 

So statistically it is not looking good for us, but what we have is those individual moments, what we have is individual talent, so a Guedes or a Soler or a Gaya can make the difference for us in tight situations. We've also missed Correia on that right back spot, he has been training for the past few days normally, but its unclear if he'll be fully fit and in full form to start this match. Gabriel Paulista is also a doubt for this match, though he has also completed a soft training session the previous day, so he could be back in the squad. 

Valencia CF Squad: Cillessen, Correia, Paulista, Alderete, Gaya; Soler, Hugo, Wass, Cheryshev; Andre, Guedes

Winning Probability: Valencia CF 25% Draw 40% Villareal CF 35%

Result Prediction: I think Villareal CF are the favorites to win this match as painful as it is to say that, but they the better team overall and just haven't had too much luck on their side, while Valencia CF has been the worse team overall with more conceded goals, less ball possession, poor passing and less goal chances. I think getting a draw would be decent for this match, I hope for a win, but I'm expecting a loss here. Valencia CF 1-2 Villareal CF! 

Time to go back to basics!

Valencia's disastrous loss against Real Betis has rung the alarm bells as the team has played 7 matches without a win. It all started with a string of injuries to our key players, Soler, Gaya, Correia, Cheryshev, all injured for an extended period of time and unfortunately we could not properly replace them as none of the options proved capable! 

The team has been slowly getting back together, but its clear that we lack team cohesion and team work. Real Betis really showed us how the game is meant to be played and that is with team work and coordination, something which Valencia CF woefully lack! Jose Bordalas needs to go back to basics and start from scratch! The team needs to gel together, to form cohesion, to learn each other's movements and anticipate where players are going to play!

We need serious tactical training, in fact I think the team needs to just play as many short matches as possible, each player has to learn where the others are going to be at any given point and anticipate how others are going to play! When Valencia CF plays it all feels disjointed, it all feels disorganized and we seem to be relying too much on individual skill and luck to get us through games! 

Pepe Bordalas has his work cut out for him, luckily we have an easier match on October 30th against Villarreal CF and a chance to steer the ship at the proper course! We've faced Villarreal CF already in the preseason and we won 3-2 against them, they are also not doing much better than us. 

Once again Jose Bordalas has to start to build the team from the ground up, focus on gameplay, focus on cohesion, focus on ball control. Yeah the players can be physically ready to play for say 120 minutes, but it doesn't help if they just get outplayed! We also need a playmaker, I mean after Baraja we fortunately had Aimar for a while, then we had Banega, but since then we've not had a real playmaker. Parejo has served that role on most occasions, but he was not a real play maker, we need someone with vision in the center midfield to organize the play, to carry the ball forward with confidence. We need a Baraja basically! Soler is a work horse, he is a busy body, he does a lot of stuff, but he is not a play maker. Daniel Wass kind of has the same defensive role as Hugo, but I think the overlap might be a bit too big for both of them to play in the same team, especially when its not bearing any fruit! 

In fact I think Guedes is probably our biggest play maker as he is the only one who can realistically carry the ball forward and who often needs to come back to get the ball so an attack can happen! I think Bordalas needs to think about ditching one of Wass or Hugo, they are both defensive midfielders and where are the results? Maybe try Foulqier in central midfield, maybe Helder Costa, idk figure out who has the chops to be a play maker and try it out. 

Real Betis vs Valencia CF Match Preview

After a set of difficult matches against Real Madrid, Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona, Valencia CF had a chance to get back to a winning path against Mallorca at the Mestalla, but Valencia CF barely managed to rescue a draw against what should have been a comfortable win. 

So right now the great start to the season seems like a distant past and all the good work from the early season has gone down the drain. Valencia CF is going to face Real Betis in mid week and it is going to be a very tough game as Real Betis are playing some good football currently and are in the top 5 positions on the table. Valencia CF desperately needs a win if we are to have any chance for European football next season, as anything other than a win against Real Betis would have us way too far down on the table to be able to mount any attack on the top 7 positions. 

Last match exposed how thin our squad is as none of the alternatives have shown up and any sort of injury or ban has our team struggling against even much weaker opposition. Last match Diakhaby and Uros Racic were really exposed and they are unlikely to feature for Valencia CF anytime soon. Maxi Gomez is the same old story of just being invisible for most of the match and barely even getting into any good positions and needs to be benched, but who can really replace him? Maybe play Yunus Musah as an attacker? 

We have also been missing Correia as his powerful forward attacks have contributed a lot to our attack and Foulquier does not have the same presence. The biggest issue this season has once again been our defense, we can talk about Maxi Gomez and inability to score goals, but we've been very leaky ever since we lost to Real Madrid and had that injury crisis. All of the teams in front of us on the table have conceded less goals, except for Osasuna who are matching us in that regard, otherwise all of the other teams have conceded less and have been much more diligent in front of goal. 

Valencia CF Squad: Cillessen, Correia, Paulista, Alderete, Gaya; Soler, Hugo, Wass, Cheryshev; Andre, Guedes

Winning Probability: Real Betis 60%, Draw 20%, Valencia CF 20%

Result Prediction: Valencia CF has slim chances of winning this match, especially after a string of very poor results. The best we can hope for is a draw here and hope to gain points at home and against weaker opponents, though anything other than a win here almost guarantees no European spot for us this season. Hopefully Jose Bordalas can wake up the team and whip them in shape, reinvigorate the fire in the players, but he has his work cut out for him. I'm expecting a loss here, but a draw would be a decent result and a win would be amazing, but its highly unlikely! 

Valencia 2-2 Mallorca

 Just got back from Mestalla, my first visit since May 2016 and I'm on the phone so this is a quick placeholder post for comments. The game didn't lack for drama. We were poor for most of it and gifted 2 soft goals. Racic has really lost presence, Maxi and Diakhaby were being Maxi and Diakhaby. As a special guest, Kangin was also being Kangin, he was not well received and his red card was cheered. Still, we looked short of ideas and accuracy but somehow rescued it with 2 injury time goals. It's hard to be really unhappy when rescuing a point that way, but this was dire overall and the team must do better than thus.

FC Barcelona 3-1 Valencia CF Match Report

1: Match starts. It will be an interesting game as both teams have good chances to win tonight!

4: GOOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! Valencia CF scores through Jose Luis Gaya! Valencia CF gets a corner, the corner kick gets deflected few times and ultimately goes towards Gaya who was standing just outside the final third and send in a powerful shot and scores a goal.

9: Good chance by FC Barcelona, a cross goes towards Jordi Alba, he rushes towards the ball, but Gaya just reaches before him and send the ball into corner

10: Counter action developing for Valencia CF on the other side, but Maxi is dispossessed from the ball.

12: Barcelona gets an equalizer, Depay send a pass to Fati and this one with a powerful long range shot beats Cillessen. 

17: FC Barcelona having the initiative in the past 5-6 minutes, Valencia CF need to take control of the ball and start bullying Barcelona.

21: Valencia CF with a big chance as Guedes send in a pass into the penalty area, unfortunately no player from Valencia CF is there to take advantage of it. 

24: Counter attack for Valencia CF, Maxi gets handles a long range cross, brings the ball down and send a through pass to Guedes, he dribbles past one player and shoots, but his shot goes wide off goal. 

32: Barcelona attacking, dangerous cross from the right side, but Paulista clears

35: Another dangerous attack by FC Barcelona, trying few shots towards Valencia's goal, but VCF players covering good and blocking the shots.

38: Penalty for FC Barcelona after a minor contact between Gaya and Fati, there was barely any contact, but its Barcelona the refs have to help them.

40: Memphis Depay scores from the penalty spot, Cillessen had no chance. The penalty was completely weak, 9 out of 10 times in other circumstances that wouldn't be a penalty! 

49: Great save by Cillessen after a powerful shot towards goal by Fati, Valencia CF need to step up in this second half.

52: Amazing chance for Valencia CF as Guedes play Soler on in a good position, he shoots but hits the post. 

57: Goncalo Guedes shoots from outside the box, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen saves

60: First change for Valencia CF, Hugo Duro leaves for Marcos Andre 

66: Chance for Barcelona as Coutinho tries to shoot from the side, but he is covered and the threat neutralized.

83: Good goal kick taken by Maxi Gomez, but goes just wide.

84: Goal by Barcelona, poor marking and tracking by our players allowing Dest to send a cross to Coutinho who found himself alone at goal and easily slotted into the net.

85: Match is over, kind of an easy win for Barcelona as Valencia CF did not took its chances and allowed Barcelona too much space!

93: Final whistle, Barcelona wins against Valencia CF at the Camp Nou. 

This is it ladies and gents, Valencia CF lost against FC Barcelona, I said that a draw doesn't benefit either side and we would likely see a winner and we did, unfortunately for us it is Barcelona, they just seemed to want it more tonight. Valencia CF had its chances, we had few good chances in the first half and then also few more good chances in the second half and almost equalized, but luck was not with us. I also think that loose penalty turned the game around, up to that point the game was equal and FC Barcelona didn't seem like they are able to score, but putting them on top just before the half time just negatively affected Valencia CF players. 

It was a fairly close game, both teams had their chances, Barcelona were just slightly better and had more of the initiative, but looking at the performance and statistics it was a fairly close match. I think our lack of depth really hurts us, okay you can put in Cheryshev in for Hugo Duro, but who else? Helder Costa has barely featured and even tonight didn't get much minutes, so we have no clue of his performance, but overall our substitutions did not add anything, in fact they seemed to weaken the team. 

Worse Valencia CF teams have beaten a much stronger Barcelona, so its a big shame that we could not beat them, this leaves us in a difficult position as we are now cemented in the middle of the table and the great start to the season seems like a distant memory. Thankfully we have some easier matches coming our way and we should be able to make some progress there and acquire some points.

FC Barcelona vs Valencia CF Match Preview

La Liga matches continued this week after the international break, and Valencia CF will be visiting FC Barcelona in what will most certainly be an eventful match. Neither team has looked particularly great, Valencia CF started off really good, but then after the loss to Real Madrid the team faltered and we had plenty of injuries, while FC Barcelona have been faltering since the start and they don't look too hot!

As you know FC Barcelona sold Lionel Messi in the summer and they can not over rely on him anymore to bail them out of tight situations! Ronald Koeman has been their coach for the past two seasons and he's probably part of the reason they are doing so poorly right now, as many of you remember he coached Valencia CF for one season and this terribly, almost coached VCF out of the first division.

So Valencia CF has a great chance to get away with a win on this visit against FC Barcelona and we have some of our players returning from injury, so that is a big boost to the team and we had plenty of time during the international break to prepare for this match. 

Both Valencia CF and FC Barcelona are sitting on 12 points on the table and next to each other, so a win for either team would be a big boost, considering the difference on the table is still quite small and just 3 points can change the whole table and jump a team several places on the table. 

FC Barcelona are also struggling with injuries and thus Pedri, Martin Braithwaite, Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Aguero are out for this match. For Valencia CF most of our injured players have recovered and should be available for selection, the only injured player we currently have is Piccini and Omar Alderete has accumulated a total of 5 yellow cards so he is suspended for this match!

Barcelona has a 13.6% shot conversion rate in La Liga their lowest since 2007-08 (13.5%), they are also very leaky at the back as well, and they've lost to very weak teams so far in La Liga, so they are not the powerhouse they once were and Valencia CF should be looking at this Barca just as any other team and looking to win.

Valencia CF Squad: Cillessen, Correia, Paulista, Diakhaby, Gaya; Soler, Hugo, Wass, Cheryshev; Gomez, Guedes

Winning Probability: FC Barcelona 45%, Draw 15%, Valencia CF 45%

Result Prediction: Most betting sites and preview predictions are saying that FC Barcelona is the clear favorite and that they are going to win, but I think Valencia CF also has a big chance to win tonight, FC Barcelona are leaky in the back, they also don't have proficient scorers right now without Aguero, so where are they better at than Valencia CF? They are still relying on Jordi Alba and Pique in defense and the slow Busquets in the middle. Both teams need a win here, so I think the chances of a draw are slim and don't work in anyone's favor, but I'm going to give the nod to Valencia CF here and say FC Barcelona 2-3 Valencia CF. 

Cadiz CF 0-0 Valencia CF Match Report

This match was supposed to be Valencia's turnaround to make a course correction over the past few bad results, and get back on winning ways, but unfortunately we have a serious lack of depth. I wrote it in the match preview that our squad depth is thin, but that we should have enough to beat a weak Cadiz who have one of the worse defenses in the league, but I guess even that is a high order.

Without Correia and Gaya bombarding on the wings and Soler with his creativity and technique we don't seem to be creating many chances and even the ones we create there is no person who can finish them consistently. This match was supposed to be Marco Andre's time to shine, but we saw why he isn't highly valued and why is was a bargain sale, albeit a bit more expensive than his actual market value.

The start of the match was back and forth between the teams with each side taking turns and attacking on the opposition half, with neither team having more control. As the match was progressing Valencia CF started asserting more and more control and the team has some small chances mainly through Guedes to score, but nothing major. Most of the attacks ended in lost balls and futile dribbles, with lack of vision and creativity in Valencia's play. Omar Alderete had a chance later in the first half, but his header went wide. Just before half time Valencia CF had a penalty claim and after the VAR check the play was continued and no penalty was awarded.

Second half started a bit more positively with Valencia CF being more assertive, aggressive, and a bit more lively resulting in two long range shots from Daniel Wass early on and these were good efforts, but both were saved by Cadiz goalkeeper. 

Valencia CF would have a big chance in the 58th minute when a dangerous pass from Yunus Musah on from the right flank almost found Hugo Duro, but you'd be excused if you think Andre and Duro conflicted with each other and basically prevented themselves from scoring. 

The next big chance for Valencia CF would come in the 81st minute when Goncalo Guedes play a perfect chipped pass for Hugo Duro, but his shot was saved by Ledesma. Goncalo Guedes several minutes later would also come close to scoring, but his shot just went wide. 

Overall Valencia CF did have few good chances to score, but no one pounced on those opportunities and ultimately the game ended in a draw. I think overall the play was good, but there just wasn't enough attacking quality to score goals or create more opportunities. I think the team today lacked both. 

Its a shame because Cadiz CF is one of the weakest teams in La Liga and dropping points against such teams will cost us in the end. I still think we lack a high quality striker who is able to score more goals and even create opportunities for himself. I think Guedes did well today, he had few shots towards goal, he provided some good passes and crosses, even a key pass to Hugo Duro which should have resulted in a goal, but but again we lack a true goal scorer. 

Cadiz CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

After a solid start to the season Valencia CF had its first stumble against Real Madrid in what was a demoralizing loss after the team played well for most of the match and only lost in the final stretch of the match. Disappointing loss when a draw was in Valencia's hands, but okay even a loss was acceptable as it was Real Madrid and no one would have expected anything anyways before the start of the season, but then came a devastating loss at the hands of Sevilla FC in what was the first very poor performance by the team. The goals conceded were all individual mistakes, but even the whole team play was weak and we saw the chinks in Valencia's armor. 

Valencia CF had a chance to make things right at the Mestalla against Athletic Bilbao, but the team stumbled once again and only managed a dull draw. Seems to me like the losses of our key players has proven extremely difficult and we've not been able to replace them accordingly. Gaya, Soler and Correia contribute a ton to the team and its been difficult few weeks without them. 

Cadiz have scored seven league goals this season but conceded 11, which is among the poorest defensive records in the league so far and as such sit at 15th place on the table. This is the kind of team Valencia CF should be looking at to take points, even if we lose to the big 4 teams we can still place high on the table if we are able to beat the lower level teams than us. 

Cadiz will again be without the services of Jon Ander Garrido and Fali this weekend through injury, while Jose Mari remains a doubt due to a thigh problem.

For Valencia CF we are still without Gaya, Soler, Cheryshev and Correia and Maxi Gomez won't feature either due to a red card. The last one not playing is actually good news as he's been ineffective this season as well. He's shown small glimpses here and there, but I think its safe to say that after 2 seasons and now this one with several different coaches he hasn't produced much and chances are he won't. So Marcos Andre would probably get the chance to start and we'll see what he's made of. So far he's looked decent when coming on as a sub, so it will be interesting to see what he can do when playing a full match.

Valencia CF Squad: Cillessen, Foulquier, Paulista, Alderete, Lato; Musah, Hugo, Wass, Duro; Andre, Guedes

Winning Probability: Cadiz CF 20%, Draw 30%, Valencia CF 50%

Result Prediction: This should be a comfortable win for Valencia CF even if we are still without our key players, we have just enough depth and quality at the reserves to be able to win this match and others like this, so I'm expecting a comfortable 2-0 win over Cadiz CF. 

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 CF vs Real Madrid Match Preview

Valencia CF has had a great start to the season with the expectations of the team being very low and basically finishing in the top 10 side of the table though of as success for this season. Now that the team has had a very impressive start to the season the goal has shifted a little bit, with the possibility of playing European football being a real possibility. I think its still highly unlikely for Valencia CF to end up in the top 4 positions to play Champions league football, but top 6 positions seems plausible. 

Tomorrow will be a big test for Valencia CF as they are going to welcome Real Madrid at the Mestalla. The tickets and seats for this match have been increased to I believe 29.000 and the Mestalla will be half full. These past few seasons we've done well against the big clubs like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, so that doesn't really show anything, because we've struggled against all other clubs, so even if we lose to Real Madrid tomorrow it won't be a big deal, as the key will be winning against the smaller clubs and drawing with our direct rivals like Sevilla, Getafe CF and Villarreal CF. 

Real Madrid had a mid week match against Inter, one which they just barely won, but considering their standard starting eleven played the whole match and only 3 substitutions were made, I'm hoping that they are a little bit tired from that match and we can possibly use that to our advantage, especially with Bordalas as the coach who is very demanding in a physical sense, so hopefully he'll demand extra physicality in this match and for our players to press high and hard. 

I think that is our best chance to win, press high and hard, abuse the fact that they played a match in mid week and force their players to tire sooner, allowing us to dominate more of the play and create chances. Another key would be to not make any mistakes in the back and close down Real Madrid players really quickly before they are able to create any dangerous chances. This is also not the Real Madrid of 3-4 years ago, they are much weaker and do not posses the same level of talent. Some of their key players are also in an advanced age so we are not dealing with prime time Real Madrid, we are dealing with a Madrid side that is on the end years of their success. While Valencia CF also has a lot of shortcomings and we are still questionable in attack, Maxi Gomez is still a big question mark and our midfield can still quite often cede control of the ball for much of the match, we are better prepared physically this season, we have some of the fastest players in the league and our defense this season seems to be performing much better which will be crucial to getting good results.

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.

CA Osasuna 1-4 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF continues to perform surprisingly well, I think a lot of us were enthusiastic for the new season based on our preseason performances and some of the purchases towards the end of the transfer window, but performances like this are really surprising and unexpected. All the better as its good to be surprised in a positive way and hopefully the team can continue to perform like this and continue to get results.

This match started favoring Osasuna as they were given an early penalty in the 6th minute, but after the VAR check the penalty was revoked and play continued. The celebration for Valencia CF didn't last long though, as just two minutes later CA Osasuna would take the lead through Jon Moncayola who's effort beat the goalkeeper.

It looked like a lost game from the start for Valencia CF as Osasuna had the initiative and were a goal up at home, but slowly but surely Valencia CF started gaining control of the match and were beginning to attack more and more. Goncalo Guedes would have few decent runs at goal, but nothing concrete.

Then in the 26th minute Valencia CF would equalize the score as Carlos Soler puts in a cross and find Maxi Gomez who controls the ball well and shoots past the goalkeeper. 

The game dropped off a lot after the equalizing goal as both sides were taking it a bit easier and apart from a few tries of both sides there was no killer chance for the rest of the first half. 

Just before the half time whistle though Denis Cheryshev got injured and was replaced by Foulquier, his first outing for VCF. 

Thankfully it didn't take long for Valencia CF to take the lead in the second half as just 5 minutes in as Aridane Hernandez would head the ball into his own net after a cross by Guedes. Just minutes later it would be Goncalo Guedes once again that would make the difference, this time with a goal on his own after an assist by Daniel Wass.

CA Osasuna would manage to score in the 62nd minute after a misunderstanding and confusion between Alderete and Giorgi, which allowed Darko Brasanac to kick the ball out of Giorgi's hands and slot in into the net. VAR was initiated and after checking the goal it was reverse and the goal canceled. Personally I think the goal should have stood as Giorgi was just claiming the ball from the ground, he barely got his hands on the ball when it was taken from him, he did not claim the ball securely into his hands and it was not in an elevated position, but whatever the goal was revoked, I guess compensating for all of the terrible calls we've gotten last season. 

Ultimately Valencia CF would kill off the game in the 72nd minute as Omar Alderete found himself in the perfect position to head on the cross from Soler right into the net. Osasuna's keeper didn't have a chance as it was a powerful header. 

Valencia CF would have few more pokes towards Osasuna's goal, even Musah would come close to scoring towards the end of the match, but the end result ended up being 4-1 for Valencia CF.

Overall after a slow and shaky start to the game Valencia CF grew into the game and came into its own, culminating in four goals scored and few decent opportunities for even more. Great performances from all of the players, but especially Goncalo Guedes and Carlos Soler. 

Mamardashvili with a terrible national debut, Guedes absent from lineup

While the previous rounds of the world cup qualification was overall positive for Valencia CF players, this round it was a more damp experience. 

Goncalo Guedes didn't start for Portugal against Azerbejan even after his previous good showing and only replaced Diego Jota in the 78th minute after the match was decided 3-0 in favor of Portugal.

Uros Racic did not have it better as he was once again an unused sub and his one outing for Serbia was when the match was already won 4-0 by Serbia. 

Daniel Wass on the other hand continued with his great performances for Denmark and after he was rested for one match he was back in the starting eleven and contributing two assist for his side.

Carlos Soler continued in the starting eleven, that is three matches in a row in his debut for Spain, he was also instrumental in Spain's previous performances, but on this occasion he wasn't as effective and while he did have some few great touches and an amazing short pass to Morata who then found Pablo who scored for Spain, but overall he looked tired and was replaced early in the second half.

Jose Luis Gaya was injured in the previous match and after testing him to determine the seriousness of his injury he was sent back to Valencia as a precaution. Turns out the injury isn't that bad, but he will need about a week to recover. 

Denis Cheryshev was an unused sub for Russia and seems like he is losing the coaches trust. He started well for Valencia CF, but has been unable to reproduce that at the national team.

Omar Alderete was an unused sub as well, probably rested after his previous match, his team won without him.

Maxi Gomez came in for Alvarez in the 72nd minute for Uruguay, but was unable to have an impact on the match.

Mamardashvili had his debut for Georgia, but it was bitter sweet for him as his side conceded four goals and lost the match. He would have preferred a different debut.

Gaya and Soler brilliant for Spain

So the second round of world cup qualifications is in the final stages, with tomorrow as the last day and Valencia CF players had a predominantly good showing. 

Uros Racic did not feature unfortunately in the second match for Serbia as he was an unused sub, but even his first outing was not productive for him as Serbia had already won by 4 goals by then and in the second match against Luxemburg they also won by scoring 4 goals.

Daniel Wass was not even in the squad for Denmark in their minimal 1-0 win over Faroe Islands, I do not know if he got injured or what the issue is, but unlike the previous match in which he started and scored a goal, this time he wasn't even in the squad.

Jasper Cillessen was not called to the Holland national team, since he was dropped in the summer from the Euro 2020/21 due to Covid19 he has not been recalled to the squad.

Our Spanish guys on the other hand continue to shine on the international scene and this time both Jose Luis Gaya and Carlos Soler did fantastic for Spain with Jose Luis Gaya scoring the first goal for Spain after a blunder by Vladimer Mamuchashvili. Gaya would score another goal for Spain in the 33rd minute, but the goal was revoked by VAR after finding it to be offside. 

Carlos Soler would score the second goal for Spain in the 25th minute after a good assist by Marcos Llorente to find Soler in the penalty area. 

The big blow came in the 74th minute as Gaya was replaced due to an injury. Lets hope its nothing serious and that he will be ready for Valencia's next match.

As predicted Maxi Gomez did not feature in the second round of matches as he was an unused substitute for his team. 

Omar Alderete did feature for Uruguay though and he started and played the full match which was a 1-1 draw against Colombia. He did not feature in the previous match due to accumulated yellow cards. 

Tomorrow we only have Goncalo Guedes left and after his solid performance in the previous match it would be strange to not see him start this time for Portugal. 

Soler debuts with a goal, Maxi still struggling

The initial round of world cup qualification matches is over and we have some good news thanks to Carlos Soler who managed to score on his debut match for Spain, but that goal was short lives as just a minute later Sweden would go on to equalize the score and ultimately win the match 2-1. Carlos Soler started in a midfield of three with him playing on the right side of it. He will be pleased with his debut, but with Spain losing the match its a bitter sweet debut. 

Jose Luis Gaya on the other hand did not start the match, nor did he get any minutes as later on Spain was chasing the score and were trying to equalize the match with the substitutes all being attack minded. 

Maxi Gomez started the match for Uruguay and he was on the field for 66 minutes, but was completely isolated from play and was ineffective throughout the match. This is I believe his second start back to back and he's failed to impress, which bodes bad for his future in the Uruguayan national team. 

So overall a successful round of qualifying matches for Valencia CF players in an individual manner as they played well for their national teams. Guedes, Wass, Soler all had great matches scoring goals and providing assists. Racic also featured in the 4-0 stomp for Serbia and Cheryshev was a starter for Russia. 

Guedes and Wass shine in world cup qualifiers

Goncalo Guedes and Daniel Wass shined in their world cup qualifying matches with Guedes coming on for Joao Cancelo in the 82nd minute and providing an assist for Cristiano Ronaldo in the 89th minute to equalize the score and send Portugal into extra time in which they won the match.

Daniel Wass on the other hand started the match and was substituted late in the 85th minute, he scored the first goal for his side in the 14th minute. Pierre-Emile Hoejbjerg from Denmark put in a great cross that found Daniel Wass and he headed the ball into the net to give Denmark an early lead. 

Denis Cheryshev also featured for Russia, he came on in the 70th minute as a substitute for Arsen Zakharyan on the left wing, though he couldn't help his team beat Croatia. 

Uros Racic also came on as a substitute for Maksimovic in the 63rd minute in what was a stomp over Qatar.

Today Carlos Soler and Jose Luis Gaya have a chance to play for Spain, hopefully they both start and lets hope they have a great showing for Spain

Giorgi Mamardashvili is also with the Georgian national team and there is a slight possibility he will feature today too. 

The transfer window closes: Helder Costa signed on loan

 So the transfer window closed a few minutes ago. Multiple sources saying we've added Helder Costa, and that's only waiting official confirmation.

From senior players, we lost Gameiro, KangIn, Sobrino and Mangala. Of those KangIn leaving for free is the only one that stings. Mangala was far too injury prone for anyone to care. Gameiro played a key role in the run to win the Copa but was otherwise a disappointing signing. Sobrino, apart from a fantastic debut against Celtic was just taking up a squad place. The club also made efforts to move out Jason, but could not find a taker. 

From more junior players, defenders Javi Jimenez and Guillem Molina left to join third level Albacete and Sabadell respectively. Both had a similar history at Valencia: a disastrous debut in the Copa (Jimenez got owned by Iago Aspas and gave away a penalty, Molina was sent off) and little game time after. It's unlikely they'd have played much of a role with us. 

Everyone who left did so on a free transfer, it must be decades since we got absolutely no money in the transfer window?

Of course, like the dog in the night in the Sherlock Holmes story what is probably important is not what happened, but what didn't happen. The club went into the transfer window looking to move out Diakhaby, Cheryshev and Guedes, being open to offers for Maxi and with Wass also pushing for an exit. There will be disappointment that we couldn't move out Diakhaby for Djene but the others are very good news. Cheryshev has started the season well and Wass is an experienced utility player who never gets injured. 

The best news is Guedes. This year we've seen him in excellent form. In the last 16 games he's been involved in at least 12 goals: scoring 5 with 7 assists, and those don't even count the goal scored by Wass last game where Guedes was key in the build-up.

In total Valencia has added 6 players, four on loan with buy options. Mamardashvili was only supposed to play for the reserves but impressed enough that he was given a chance due to injuries and he's taken it with both gloves. Alderete already looks like a vast improvement on Mangala. 

The others are unknown as yet but include Foulquier who is a right back capable of covering right wing or left back, Marcos Andre a forward. Hugo Duro, another forward who can play on the wings, and finally Helder Costa. I saw Costa at Wolves. He did really well at the second level but struggled to make an impact in the top flight. He's mainly a right winger but can also cover left wing. In the end the squad looks something like this:

While there are some disappointments, like not getting Arambarri, I think it's been a very good transfer window, keeping key players like Wass and especially Guedes and adding more depth. Let's hope that this squad can push for Europe.

Valencia CF sign Helder Costa

In the final minutes of the transfer window Valencia CF have managed to secure the services of Leeds United winger Helder Costa on a one year loan deal. This is a Jorge Mendes player, but actually a pretty decent one I must say and he plays as a winger on both flanks. 

I don't think Valencia CF have an option to purchase the player at the end of his loan deal, but the details surrounding the deal are scarce and we'll find out more in the coming hours and days. I think this is a solid deal and a player we needed. Cheryshev has been doing quite well on the left flank for us this season, but he is very injury prone and not the most explosive player, so having another option is a great thing. He can also play on the right flank and free up Soler from there to play more centrally if there is a need.

I think Jose Bordalas is going to stay with the team he's build up from the preseason, but as things change and as there is a need incorporate some of these new arrivals into the first team. Helder Costa joins Valencia CF on a one year loan deal with no option to purchase at the end of it if initial reports are correct, but a useful deal. 

Valencia adding Hugo Duro

 Following Sobrino's exit yesterday, Valencia look to have added Hugo Duro. This is a player that our fans long joked about signing. Duro has been a meme for us since the famous Copa win over Getafe when he blocked a 92nd minute goalbound shot by his own teammate Jorge Molina, leading to a counter attack where we scored and sealed the late 3-1 win to advance us in the Copa. The excited commentary by Miguel Ángel Román "tocó en Hugo Duro...tocó en Hugo Duro!" spawned viral videos and t-shirts.

Who would have guessed that 2 and a half years later Duro would be a Valencia player under Bordalas?

The deal seems to have come after a day of counter dealings. Mendes had already agreed the loan of Leeds' Helder Costa to us, but Bordalas vetoed it. Bordalas then pushed for and seems to have got Duro instead, despite opposition from the Valencia heirarchy, using our good relations at management level with Getafe. On the one hand, it's good that he can persuade them to approve the players he wants, rather than foisting players (Cutrone...Ferro...) that the coach doesn't want and will never play. On the other hand.... disputes with management over transfers, refusing Mendes options because he wants his own guys. That's a story we've heard before and it did not end well. 

Back to Duro. His stats at first glance look unimpressive: 25 La Liga games, just one goal. Stats which make Sobrino look good. However, drilling into them, there's more to the story. Most of his appearances were as late sub, meaning he's clocked up 858 minutes, equivalent to 9 and a half games. He also played a third of that time as winger. In total, he's scored once and providing 3 assists. He spent last season on a "development loan" at Real Madrid Castilla, where he did play centre forward, scoring a rather more impressive 12 goals in 19 appearances, though that was at third level. He also made 3 late sub appearances for the first team, playing the last 15 minutes against Atalanta in the Champions League round of 16.

Overall, not excited about this, but not annoyed either. He's 21, so has time to develop. It's a loan with an option to buy of 4 million. If he turns out to be useful, we exercise the buy option, if not, nothing lost. I expect him to be a squad player providing back up to people like Guedes, Maxi, Andre and not forgetting Vallejo, who I hope we will see more of. Most importantly, for now, Bordalas has the support and confidence of the board. 

Valencia sign Foulquier

Valencia have confirmed the signing of Dimitri Foulquier, who joins from Granada on a 4-year contract for a fee of 2.5 million, which could rise by another million depending on achievements.

Granada signed Foulquier from Rennes, before selling him to Watford, where he played under Javi Gracia, but he was unable to break into the first team. His first appearance (of only two) was in an 8-0 defeat to Man City where he was subbed off after 33 minutes and he was loaned out, first to Strasbourg and then Getafe where he impressed Bordalas in a brief spell enough for the coach to request his signing for us. 

Foulquier is mainly a right back but has occasionally played at right wing and left back. Truth be told I don't 100% understand the signing, as Thierry has done enough now to convince as a solid prospect. I can only guess this is to add squad depth, as Foulquier is versatile enough and it also frees up Wass to cover central midfield, where Bordalas seems to prefer him, and where we now look unlikely to sign anyone. It's also surprising that we don't seem to have made an effort to move Piccini out.

The window closes tomorrow, the only operation which looks possible is the exit of Diakhaby and his replacement by Djene, but the latter operation would depend on the former and it doesn't look likely at this late stage.

Ruben Sobrino to join Cadiz CF

Cadiz CF want to buy Valencia CF striker Ruben Sobrino and Valencia CF want to oblige as the player isn't in Jose Bordalas plans, especially now that Valencia CF bought Marcos Andre. Ruben Sobrino is worth some 1-2 million euros, but Cadiz CF are set to want to purchase the player for half a million euros, while Valencia CF are holding out on at least a million or 30% of the players rights.

Valencia CF does want to facilitate the move at any cost though as they are trying to bring in another player in, some reports suggest that it might be Granada's defender Foulquier, while other reports suggest that Valencia CF is still looking for another striker and that Jonathan Calleri is their last target.

Valencia CF management should have planned the transfers much better, doing last minute transfers and much of the arrivals depending on how many departures we can have in the last day of the transfer season is way too chaotic. Not to mention the botched transfer of Kang-In Lee who was let for free just to make room for another foreign spot for Marcos Andre. 

Valencia CF 3-0 CD Alaves Match Report

Valencia CF went into this match with big expectations, but a big question mark on their performance as well and the team answered. Beating CD Alaves comfortably 3-0 was indeed an impressive feet and what is even better than that is that the team did not look troubled at any point of the match. 

I wrote in my match preview that this was a much win match for Valencia CF and anything other than a win would be a big disappointment and a bad omen for the rest of the season, but I also thought the team is likely going to win the match, predicting a 2-0 win for Valencia CF. The team obliged and even went further beating CD Alaves by three goals to zero. 

Valencia CF started strong from the get go and it didn't take long for them to find the back of the net. Cheryshev started a semi counter attack from the middle of the field, ran further up with the ball then plays a tricky 1-2 with Guedes, the return pass was precise and finds Cheryshev in an advanced position on the left flank, he passes the ball in the penalty area and finds Daniel Wass who slots the ball into the net. 

Minutes after the goal Valencia CF would have another solid chance for a goal through Guedes who was released by a through pass from Soler, but his shot hits the post.

Kang-In Lee leaves Valencia CF

Kang-In Lee leaves Valencia CF and joins Mallorca CF. With the signing of Marcos Andre by Valencia CF the club's 3rd foreign slot was occupied and thus the need to sell Kang-In Lee. Earlier in the summer Valencia CF had accepted that Kang-In Lee might stay as the signing of Marcos Andre was seen as unattainable, but with the La Liga deal with the private investment firm and the fact that VCF was going to receive some 110 million euros, 15% of which for transfers the doors opened for an increased offer from Valencia CF to Valladolid CF and the club was ultimately able to acquire Marcos Andre.

Kang-In Lee had dozen of offers but both the club and played had rejected or ignored all of them, but once Andre was signed the club forced Kang-In Lee to pick one option or be left out of the squad. Ultimately the player and Valencia CF agreed to rescind the contract and this he will leave on a free and join Mallorca.

I mean this is just another example of Peter Lim's terrible management, buy high and sell low or even for free, then whine that the club doesn't have any money and blame the fans for any and all issues in the media! That is Peter Lim for you, an incompetent arrogant fool who doesn't deserve a penny of the wealth he has accrued. I don't know how his incompetence works in retail sales, but its clear that he is utterly incompetent and stupid and it doesn't translate well in managing a football club. 

We could have sold him even for something like 7-8 million euros if the club accepted the early offers or pushed for his sale early, but no they waited in limbo to see what happens and when Marcos Andre finally joined then in reaction they started to act. 

Another wasted talent, another mismanaged sale, another black spot for Valencia CF. 

Valencia CF vs CD Alaves Match Preview

Valencia

CD Alaves

Date 2021-08-27 22:15 CET

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a hard fought draw with Granada CF, but they are going to be looking to improve upon last match and beat Deportivo Alaves at the Mestalla. Gaining 3 points tonight will be crucial and it will setup Valencia CF for a good season, anything other than that and its going to foreshadow a bland and difficult season with almost no chance of European football.

Valencia CF got a boost in attack as well, acquiring Marcos Andre from Valladolid for 9 million euros and 10% of any future sale of the player. The players salary is also on the high side of 2 million euros per season with a contract length of 5 years. 

Now that the 3rd foreign slot has been captured, Valencia CF is looking to sell Kang-In Lee, but the player has rejected all offers coming his way. Valencia CF also ignored a lot of offers earlier in the transfer window for him as they were significantly lower than his evaluation, but with recent events unfolding the way they are, the club are forced to sell the player at any cost. Just more Lim mismanagement, buy very high, sell very low and make a loss on every transfer. 

Deportivo Alaves are coming to this match with two loses from their opening two matches and will be looking to improve upon their recent results and finally acquire at least a point to their name. Valencia CF on the other hand will be looking to win this match and continue in good form, anything other than that and its the mediocre team of last season once again upon us. Hopefully this is not the same team, hopefully the new coach has instilled more confidence in the players and with better tactics hopefully we can win.

Valencia CF sign Marcos Andre

Valencia CF and Valladolid reached an agreement for the signing of Marcos Andre. He's been a long standing Valencia CF target and it took almost 3 months for Valencia CF to facilitate his arrival. In order to do so Valencia CF had to overpay his market value by more than double, with reports suggesting that Valencia CF is paying 8.5 million euros for the player, plus 10% of any future sale! 

Marcos Andre has agreed on a 5 years contract with Valencia CF worth 2 million euros per season for a total of 10 million euros for his stay here at Valencia CF. This is on the high side considering he isn't a proficient goalscorer, in fact he only scored 5 goals at Valladolid since 2020 and has not yet proven himself at any serious level. 

At this point I guess any attacker is better than Maxi Gomez, but Valencia CF did indeed overpay for this one. What is done is done though and lets just hope that he scores a lot of goals for Valencia CF. 

Granada CF 1-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF came into the Granada match following an emphatic victory over Getafe CF with Valencia CF looking to extend their run of wins against a weaker side in Granada CF, but Granada had other plans. Early in the first half Granada CF would take the lead through a powerful counter attack with Luis Suarez getting on the cross of Carlos Bacca, escaping Alderete and firing a precise show low into the corner, beating our new goalkeeper Giorgi and putting Granada one up.

Valencia CF would not lose confidence though and would continue attacking, with the determination to get one back in and equalize the match. This would result in several good chances for Valencia CF, mainly through Maxi Gomez and Goncalo Guedes, but Cheryshev and others had decent opportunities as well. 

Guedes would fire a good shot after a good pass to him by Maxi, but his shot was weak and the ball was cleared with Maxi and Cheryshev also having shots at goal, but failing to convert. Valencia CF would keep attacking and passing the ball mostly through the wings with Gaya and Correia constantly joining the attack and sending in crosses and passes.

None of the attack would pay off though as Valencia CF did not have finishers this match and all of their efforts ended up being wasted in front of goal. If this match proved anything it is that no matter what coach or playing style Maxi Gomez just isn't our goalscorer and the sooner Valencia CF can get an attacker the better, though the timeframe is getting shorter and shorter. 

Valencia CF would continue with its attacks in the second half and once again most of its attacks went through Guedes, but unfortunately no end ball or a goal and it seemed as if Valencia CF would lose this match, but then Gaya decided to take matters into his own legs and act out a foul, which not only tricked the referee, but the VAR observers too, awarding Valencia CF a penalty. Maybe they were just trying to  compensate for the terrible calls Valencia CF had last season, but they gave the penalty and once again Carlos Soler was precise from the penalty spot.

Just as soon as Valencia CF scored, Granada scored once again, as if the universe punishing VCF for a false penalty. But the referees were on our side once again and VAR once again determined a hand play and the goal was disallowed. This was a proper decision though and the end result stood at 1-1. Valencia CF is still unbeaten in La Liga, but there is much improvement to be made if Valencia CF is going to have any chance for European football and we are only talking about Europa league, no chance for CL it seems this season!

Granada CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Granada

Valencia

Date 2021-08-21 19:30 CET

Valencia CF started its first 2021/22 season match with a hard fought victory against none other than Valencia's coach Jose Bordalas former team Getafe CF. In typical Valencia CF fashion we had to make it hard on ourselves and Hugo got sent off for a dangerous play very early in the match, forcing Valencia CF to play with 10 players for over 80 minutes. 

Bordalas methods must have worked as Valencia CF was able to hold on to its small lead until the end and even had several chances on the counter attack to improve its score, though unfortunately not all of our chances were converted, but that would have been wanting too much. Overall the play was quite solid considering we were one player down and defensively the team was great. In the match report I asked if we are actually going to have trouble beating smaller and weaker teams who sit back and defend, taking away Valencia's style of predominantly defending and then hitting on the counter. Can Valencia CF become an attacking team when playing weaker opponents and break their defenses? 

Granada CF is going to be that test, can Valencia CF beat a much weaker opponent and how will our play look like? Will Valencia CF look like the weaker team and defend even against weaker opponents and try and hit them on the counter as well or will the team become more active and try to outplay them and break their defense? 

Valencia CF to keep Kang-In Lee till winter

Valencia CF plans to keep Kang-In Lee till winter and then try and sell him. The club has not received any substantial offers for the player so they might as well keep him till the winter and use him if he can help the team in any way and then potentially sell him in the winter, even if its at a lower fee than his value.

Valencia CF has little choice in the matter as the club has not received a serious offer for the player which would be in the region of 15 million euros and more, but they also can't extend his contract. So might as well use the player for 6 months and then see if he maybe changes his mind about extending his contract with Valencia CF or sell him for say 8 million euros or so, a much reduced price, but still get something for him before he can leave for free next year. 

Valencia CF 1-0 Getafe CF Match Report

Valencia CF first 2021/22 season match started with a hard fought win over Jose Bordalas former team in what was an eventful and intense match. Right off the bat the match turned bad for Valencia CF as Hugo Guilamon was shown a red card for a high leg collision with Maksimovic after VAR reviewed the incident. Truth be told it was not a straight red card for me, both players had their leg up, both lunged towards the ball and both sort of hit each other with the leg, Hugo actually lifted his leg second after Maksimovic and therefore it was higher at the point of impact, making it look worse, but it was no worse than what Maksimovic did. 

Terrible call from VAR, why is it even used to judge cases like this? Isn't it supposed to be for extremely questionable things like hair splitting goal line calls and hair splitting offside calls, not for fouls or stopped play. 

Anyways this did not prevent Valencia CF from launching counter attacks and on one occasion Cheryshev got the ball wide on the left flank, moved inwards towards the penalty area, he had two Getafe defenders on him and when he reached the penalty area he was fouled and a penalty was awarded to Valencia CF. 

Soler stepped to take the penalty, backed away a short distance from the ball, engaged in a slow run towards the ball and placed a low right sides shot towards the goal, with the Getafe CF goalkeeper misjudging the direction Soler would shoot and lunging at the wrong side. Soler scores and Valencia CF get a lead on Getafe CF in what was otherwise a bad situation for the team.

Valencia CF vs Getafe CF Match Preview

Valencia

Getafe

Date 2021-08-13 21:00 CET

The new 2021/22 season is finally upon us, Valencia CF has so far managed to do two transfers, bringing in Jose Bordalas our new coach and Omar Alderete our new central defender. In terms of where the team stands and compares to the other teams in La Liga its unclear. Valencia CF played 7 preseason friendly matches, won 4 of them and lost 3 of them. The big win was over AC Milan of course for the Orange trohpy, Valencia CF managed to draw with AC Milan and then beat them at penalties, but then the club lost the next match against Brentford FC, though most of that squad was reserves and youth players, but still even with some of the first team starters coming on the game didn't change for the better for Valencia CF.

So tonight's match against Getafe CF is going to be our real test and a very telling one, because as you know Bordalas left Getafe CF to join Valencia CF and it would be interesting to see where the two clubs are with their new coaches and how much of a difference that has made! Valencia CF has pretty much the same squad as last season with just one addition, so any change in play is purely down to the coach. 

I'm cautiously optimistic about this season as we've seen some progress in the friendly matches, the players seem to have a higher fighting spirit and want to prove themselves, but we'll see if that translates into official matches. I still think our attack might struggle as I'm not sure that Maxi Gomez is going to be able to lead the attack, I wish Bordalas was some magician able to find the right concoction of spell and make him play better, but he isn't and I don't see Maxi scoring 10+ goals for us. Good thing is that Valencia CF is still chasing Marcos Andre and we might just get him for 5 million euros, though he isn't some proven goalscorer either, he'd just be an option for the attack if things don't turn out well with Maxi Gomez. 

Valencia CF Squad: Mamardashvili, Paulista, Alderete, Hugo; Correia, Soler, Cheryshev, Gaya; Jason, Maxi, Guedes

Winning Probability: Valencia CF 50%, Draw 20% Getafe CF 30%

Result Prediction: Valencia CF 1-0 Getafe CF

Don't know what to expect and that is what is exciting about this match, its going to be a complete unknown and we'll have to wait  and see how the team does. With both teams focused on defending well I expect a tighter match with little to no goals, I think and hope that Valencia CF manages to edge this one by one goal difference

Marcos Andre is still a possibility

Valencia CF isn't giving up on their target Marcos Andre and the club are keen on getting the player now even more than ever as the club is poised to receive upwards of 110 million euros, 15% of which can go towards transfers, meaning Valencia CF does have a little bit of leeway and can probably buy Marcos Andre.

As you know Marcos Andre is a Brazilian football player who currently plays for Real Valladolid as a forward.  He is currently valued at about 3-4 million euros, but Real Valladolid is aware of the high interest of Valencia CF and is high balling with his price, trying to get somewhere in the region of 5.5 to 5 million euros. 

Reports suggest that Valencia CF is willing to go as high as 5 million euros, about 2 million euros more than the initial offer, but the club won't offer 6 million and is willing to look at another player or even just go without a new signing. 

100 million euros injection for Valencia CF

Valencia CF will get 100 million euros in the next few seasons as part of the deal between the private venture capital firm CVC and La Liga. CVC bought 10% of La Liga for about 2.7 billion euros, a lot of that money is going to go to the clubs, with 15% of that for transfers the clubs do, 15% to reduce the clubs debt and the other money will go into building infrastructure. 

This means that in the near future Valencia CF future seems a lot more secure, but the club will still need to strategically invest and make sure it competes for Champions league football again in order to be financially sustainable. 

Sampdoria going after Kang-In Lee

Italian football club Sampdoria are interested in Valencia CF midfielder Kang-In Lee and reportedly want to purchase the player, with Valencia CF being in the precarious position of being forced to sell the player this season or lose him for free the next one!

Kang-In Lee contract expires next summer and he has made his intentions that he wants to move on clear with no intentions at least publicly of changing his mind, therefore Valencia CF needs to sell him now in order to make some money off of him. He is valued at about 16-18 million euros, though Sampdoria isn't a financial powerhouse and will likely go in with a much lower offer between 11-12 million euros. 

James Léa Siliki the poor man's Jefferson Lerma

Valencia CF are moving focus away from Jefferson Lerma and onto James Léa Siliki a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais.

James Léa Siliki has played for Rennais since 2017 and has featured a total of 123 times for them, with 84 of those in the domestic league. He is currently valued at about 3-4 million euros and has a contract with them till 2023. 

Valencia CF have hit a brick wall in with the arrival of Jefferson Lerma as the club is unable to meet the players transfer fee, so they are turning to cheaper options. 

Valencia CF still going after its targets

Valencia CF is still trying to get some of the players we've reported on here. The club is negotiating with AFC Bournemouth for the transfer of Jefferson Lerma, and the club is still trying to sign Marcos Andre the Valladolid's striker. Some reporting says that Valencia CF even sent an initial bid for the player, but it was rejected. 

Jaison Murillo is still a target as the club is trying desperately to sell Mouctar Diakhaby and bring in a new central defender. David Timor from Getafe CF is still an option and Valencia CF could swoop in for him after we sell a player and are able to more freely go in the transfer market. 

Uros Djurdevic is also an option, though as of right now the club is looking to bring either a midfielder or central defender, a striker is not a big concern as of right now as Maxi Gomez will be staying with Valencia CF. I guess the new coach thinks he can enable Maxi Gomez to score more goals, though even he he wanted to get rid of him its just not possible as there are no offers for the player.