Levante UD 0-1 Valencia CF - Match Review

A late goal from Juan Mata helped Valencia take the spoils in the local derby against Levante and maintain their top-four ambitions.
The winger had earlier missed a penalty and struck the crossbar with a free-kick, but he made amends by sliding home the winner in the final ten minutes to hand Unai Emery's men three consecutive Primera Division wins.
The home crowd generated a lively atmosphere inside the Ciutat de Valencia, but the standard of football on the pitch could not match what was an important occasion for the hosts.
Luis Garcia’s enjoyed the best of the opening spell without creating any genuine opportunities, with Felipe Caicedo as usual being the most prominent attacker.

Valencia begun to grow into the contest, however, and on 26 minutes they were given a dream opportunity to open the scoring. Miquel Robuste needlessly blocked Hedwiges Maduro’s run into the area, and the referee did not hesitate in pointing to the spot.
Juan Mata strode up confidently to convert, but only contrived to clip the top of the crossbar as the ball whizzed over. It was a poor effort from the usually reliable Spanish international.
The match labored into the second half, a scrappy affair with neither side showing much in the way of quality. Levante threw on Christian Stuani and reverted to a 4-4-2, and within a minute of being involved the substitute crashed down in the area after a clash with Miguel, demanding a penalty that was not forthcoming.
Valencia rallied. Mata, still reeling from his spot kick miss, started to become involved again, and saw a beautifully floated free kick crash back off the crossbar, with home keeper Reina getting the faintest of touches to the effort.
But Los Che were upping the ante, and eventually they got the breakthrough their play deserved. Pablo Hernandez played the ball through to Mata, who was marginally played onside by full-back David Cerra, and this time the winger made no mistake, showing composure to roll the ball into the corner past the dive of Reina, and record his third goal of the season.
The Granotes had no time to respond, and Emery was delighted to see his team bounce back from Copa del Rey disappointment in midweek to edge three points clear of the chasing pack in the race for the top four.

Article from goal.com

Technical details:
Levante (0): Reina, Cerra, Robusté, Pallardó (Sergio, min, 64), Nadal (Muñoz, min. 75), Juanfran, X. Torres, Ballesteros, Juanlu, Rubén (Stuani, min. 64) y Caicedo.

Valencia CF (1): Guaita, Maduro, Topal, Soldado (Vicente, min. 75), Mata (Éver, min. 92), Aduriz, Dealbert, Stankevicius, Pablo (Feghouli, min. 87), Miguel y Jordi Alba.

Goals: 0-1 Min. 83 Mata.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 6 - Not much to do, though seemed quite confident in his performance.
Miguel 5.5 - Made few defensive mistakes, but largely good at the back and offered decent performance going forward.
Stankevicious 5.5 - Not much that he could do as Levante barely attacked all 90 minutes.
Dealbert 5.5 - Same as Stankevicious.
Alba 5 - His worst match this season, good defensively, but everything he did offensively was several bad passes.
Pablo 7 - Made the assist for Mata's goal and generally good in attack, served more as a creating midfielder rather than a winger.
Maduro 6 - His running into the Levante penalty area allowed for a penalty and generally decent, though as usual he became less and less effective towards the end. Too little fitness perhaps?
Topal 5.5 - Did well defensively, though had an easy time as Levante barely attacked.
Mata 6 - Scored a goal, but on the other hand he missed a penalty and scrambled few good chances.
Aduriz 5.5 - Run and fought the whole 90 minutes, but he was cut from service.
Soldado 5.5 - Often came outside to get the ball and was available for passing, not much service to him either.
Subs:
Vicente 6.5 -  When he came in the left side immediately became more dangerous. Showed Mata how to play from the wing as he made several good runs in the short time he had.
Feghuoli NA - Not enough time
Banega NA - Not enough time

Levante UD vs Valencia CF - Match Preview

Tonight's match will give Valencia an opportunity to bounce back after a demoralizing and agonizing defeat. Unai Emery is now considerably under pressure, but his stay at Valencia is more or less guarantied unless Valencia drop to 7th or 8th position in the Spanish table.

Valencia CF are coming to this match after the agonizing 4-2 loss to Villarreal in the Copa Del Rey. What makes this defeat so agonizing is that Valencia had a 2-0 lead over Villarreal, but failed to protect it in the second half. The referee also helped Villarreal by awarding them a non-existent penalty and the ground was set from Valencia to loose. The team lost all ability and confidence after such fast goals and ultimately lost 4-2.

Emery was critical of the way the team played in the second half and himself so he will try to find ways to strengthen our defense. Going against him is his own inexperience and pressure from the fans to tighten up at the back and bring good results.

Some players have came out of injury and will be ready to take part in the match against Levante. David Albelda, Chori Dominguez, Dadid Navarro and Tino Costa are to return to the team as well as the suspended Aritz Aduriz after serving out his one match ban.
On the flip side Joaquin will be unavailable as he was given a two match suspension by the board of referees, after he attacked one of the referees after the match vs Villarreal. He is also on a watch list and if he does such an action once again this season can be given a 12 match suspension, so when he returns he should be on a good behavior.Jeremy Mathieu is also out of the squad due to an injury he sustained during the match vs Villarreal.

Valencia CF squad: to be announced...

Levante UD on the other side had a decent week after managing to beat Real Madrind 2-0 on the return leg of the Copa Del Rey, although they lost 8-2 on aggregate, but they also had a good match before as they managed to stretch out Barcelona and make them work really hard for a 2-1 victory.
After loosing 8-0 to Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey Levante has really tightened up their defense and are coming to tonight's match really strong and anything but a loss would be great result for them because they are just few points from the relegation zone.


Levante UD squad:
Goalkeepers: Manolo Reina, Gustavo Munúa
Defenders: Juanfran García, Héctor Rodas, Javi Venta, Miguel Robusté, David Cerrajería, Sergio Ballesteros
Midfielders: Miguel Pallardó, Xisco Nadal, Xavi Torres, Sergio González, Xisco Muñoz, Valdo Lopes, Juanlu Gómez
Strikers: Felipe Caicedo, Christian Stuani, Rafa Jordá, Rubén Suárez


Valencia CF Technical:
Formation: 4-4-2
Line up: Guaita; Miguel, Stankevicious, R. Costa, Alba; Pablo, Maduro, Banega, Mata, Soldado; Aduriz.
Tactics: High frequency crosses from the wings, positional changes from the 2 wingers, medium defensive line, high opposing field pressure.

Result prediction:
Levante UD 1-1 Valencia CF
Levante is going to offer a lot of resistance and with their defense really tightened up they will be tough to crack. I think Valencia is going to score a goal first in the first half, but in the second half Levante is going to score a goal back from an counter attack.
I hope that Valencia can win, but seems very unlikely and that is why I predict 1-1 result.

Joaquin assaults the referee

After the Villareal vs Valencia match tonight ended Joaquin attacked the referee in the tunnel. Joaquin went to the main referee and said that he is a thief, stupid and low life asshole.
He than tried to physically attack him and swore at him. The cowardly referee not knowing what to do gave him a red card. Now I'm not too familiar with the rules, but I'm pretty sure you can't give a player a red card after the match has ended.

The referee said that he gave him a red card because he was insulted, threatened and assaulted by Joaquin.

Personally I think this referee should be fired because he is bad at this job and secondly he should have confronted the situation like a man and not like a scared little girl.

Also Valencia needs to file a suit on these referees as I think every expert can agree that they always make huge bad calls against Valencia.

Villareal CF 4-2 Valencia CF

Bravo for the referee and all the referees who are blind and stupid. How many times are referees going to make calls against Valencia? Red cards. yellow cards, penalties you name it, Valencia CF is always on the receiving end.

On to the match and Valencia simply forgot how to play football in the second half. After an awesome first half, in the second half its like the players were replaced by same looking robots who's program was to loose the match.

The match started as good as it can possible get. Ever Banega shot at goal at the 5th minute and with the help of Villareal goalkeeper the ball went into the net and it was 1-0 for Valencia.
Things got even better in the 22nd minute as Soldado got to a superb cross from Maduro and with a difficult move stopped the ball and than chipped it into Villarreal's net.
Valencia was leading 2-0 on 22 minutes into the match on Villareal's own ground. As the players managed to bring the game into the brake there was all the hope that this would be a wonderful win and a sign of maturation from all Valencia players.

As soon as the second half began we were doomed. 2 minutes into the second half and Villarreal equalized due to poor marking by all defensive players, but mostly because Stankevicious allowed 2 meters breathing space to the player he marked.
As has been usual for a lot of time now the referee had a say on who is going to win the match and only 1 minute later awarded Villareal a penalty by the main offender in this match non other than Stankevicious.
From that point on Valencia never recovered and managed to destroy everything it accomplished in the first half. Soon enough Ruben found himself alone and unmarked by the defense and easily scored the third goal for Villareal, but as if that wasn't enough Valencia went into a poor offense and left the back exposed and Villareal made it 4-2.

Technical details:
Result: Villareal CF 4-2 Valencia CF; AGG: Villareal CF 4-2 Valencia CF
Villarreal (4): Juan Carlos, Gonzalo, Ángel, Cazorla (Musacchio, min. 80), M. Ruben (Mario, min. 83), Cani (Joan Oriol, min. 86), Capdevila, Catalá, B. Valero, Bruno y Rossi.
Valencia CF (2): Guaita, Bruno, Maduro, Joaquín, Soldado, Mata, Dealbert (, Stankevicius, R. Costa, Éver (Topal, min. 59) y Mathieu (J. Alba, min. 71).
Goals: 0-1 Min. 4 Éver. 0-2 Min. 22 Soldado. 1-2 Min 47. Cazorla 2-2 Min. 48. Rossi. 3-2 Min. 63 Ruben. 4-2. Min. 92 Rossi.


Player Ratings:
Guaita 5 - Could not be blamed for any of the goals, though he probably should have done better for the third goal.
Bruno 5 - Brilliant first half performance and then went missing in the second half. He was nowhere in defense and offense.
Stankevicious 2 - Terrible performance this night. Was decent in the first half with one mistake and one 2 good clearances, but he was just terrible in the second half. Gave Villareal attackers at least 2 meters space and was in the wrong positions all the time. Also partially responsible for the penalty, although it was a very harsh call.
Dealbert 5 - Had few good clearances, but than came the second half and he went from decent to bad.
R. Costa 3 - Poor match all round. Made one big mistake in the first half and then made several big mistakes in the second.
Mathieu 4 - Didn't do anything all match long until the end where he got injured by barely colliding with a Villareal player. Seems as he doesn't care for the team and should be sold as soon as possible!
Joaquin 5 - Good first half with good corners delivery, but went to bad in the second half with mindless runs that didn't result in anything.
Maduro 6 - Second best player on the field, but made a lot of bad passes and inaccurate high passes in the second half
Banega 6 - Scored a goal and was generally useful to the attack and defense. Has no match form as he has been playing very little this season.
Mata 5 - I could barely see Mata all match long. Apart from popping out here and there it was a mediocre performance and a ton more is expected from him.
Soldado 8 - Best player on the field. Scored a wonderful goal, made crucial interceptions, fought hard and run non-stop all match long. Man of the match performance.
Subs:
Topal 4 - Came in and didn't do much of anything. Apart from 2 decent covers in Valencia's penalty area no other significant impact.
Vicente 5 - Could not assert himself into the game. Had two or three runs, but nothing really beneficial.
Alba NA - Not enough time, though immediately more active in going forward than Mathieu.

Villareal CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Tonight is the second leg of the Copa Del Rey clash between Valencia and Villareal. The first match was played in Valencia at the Mestalla and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. This means that Valencia is coming to this second leg without an advantage from the first leg, although if this match ends in a draw with goals Valencia will go through on the away goal rule. If the first 90 minutes end 0-0 as the previous match, the clubs will play in additional time.

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a 2-1 victory over Espanyol with a bit of an lucky goal by Mata in the 92nd minute, because it seemed as Mata was offside when he scored. Still Valencia won and no matter how you win, every win is important. The team played well in the last match and more players have returned from injury and this will give Emery a small boost and more choices.
On the flip side Aduriz will miss the encounter due to his red card against Espanyol and goalkeepers Cezar and Moya are still injure, as well as Albelda.

This match reminds me of last seasons fight in this cup between Atletico Madrid and Valencia as both clubs were so evenly matched, but Atletico won on away goal, so I'm hoping Valencia can play the Atletico Madrid role this time and win on an away goal advantage. This match is very important and in essence serves as testing ground for the Champions League and how much can Valencia expect in the competition. A win tonight would also boost the motivation and self belief of the players and with a tough season ahead every positive thing is welcomed!

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Guaita, Saúl.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, R.Costa, Stankevicius, Dealbert, Mathieu, Jordi Alba .
Midfield: Maduro,Topal, Éver, Joaquín, Pablo, Feghouli, Vicente.
Attack: Mata, Isco, Soldado, Alcácer.


Villareal CF are also coming strong to this match as they easily beat Almeria the past weekend and are keeping up at the top with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Villareal are also boosting one of the best home records in La Liga, behind only by Real Madrid and would want to use this advantage. Valencia ha proven to be strong though as we've seen in the La Liga match and it will come down to individual performances most likely.
Villareal are likely to see this match as an advantage due to the 0-0 draw in the previous leg, but would take things cautiously as they can easily loose if there are goals, but it ends in a draw.

Bad news for Villareal is the absense of Marcos Senna due to a hamstring injury, striker Nilmar is also out due to injury and former Valencia player Marchena is also ruled out.

Villareal CF squad: to be announced...


Valencia CF Technical:
Formation: 5-4-1
Line up: Guaita; Miguel, Stankevicious, Dealbert, R. Costa, Mathieu; Joaquin, Maduro, Topal, Mata; Soldado.
Tactics: Low zone defense, double line defensive perimeter, deep zone laying midfield, wing attacks, high frequency crosses.

Valencia is going to play the same way they played against Villareal in La Liga. There are going to be 5 defenders, with the full backs going forward and helping out the wingers. The central midfielders are going to cover a wide area of any weak spot at the back with the wingers also coming back to help. The attack will be through the wings with the full backs adding support and even serving as midfielders to spread the ball.

Result prediction:
Villareal CF 1-1 Valencia CF
This is going to be a very tight match with both sides approaching cautiously. Any mistake can mean a loss and the importance will be on the defense. Valencia managed to get a draw at Villareal in La Liga and its possible now, but draw at 1-1 so that Valencia continues in the tournament.

Official: Valencia signs Adil Rami

Valencia announced today throught its official website that they have signed French defender Adil Rami from Lille.

He will stay on loan with Lille for the remainder of this season and will join Valencia in the summer when the season ends.

Adil Rami, 25, has signed a contract with Valencia that will keep him in Valencia until June 30, 2015.

Its believed that his signature may have cost Valencia as much as 10 million euros, though its more likely that Valencia has signed him for less, though the official sum is undisclosed.

This is of course a great signing for Valencia as Rami is a solid central defender and has also featured in the French national side, though Lille's goals taken is not that good right now and even though they are currently first place in France first division they have taken 21 goals.

Winter transfer market - who should Valencia CF buy?

Goalkeepers - Between Cezar, Moya and Guaita as well as the B team call up goalkeeper Saul Valencia are currently in no need of a goalkeeper and I suspect we won't need one even for the next season, since if there is a need for a 3rd goalkeeper current B team goalkeeper Saul can be called to the ranks.
Cezar is supposed to leave in the summer, but between Guaita or Moya they can finally replace Cezar.

Defense - Valencia's defense has always been the weak link since Ayala left the team. Since then Valencia has been unable to find another Ayala and there is always room for improvement in the back. Having said all that there is currently no real need for a defensive player since all slots are full and there are few players that can play on different defensive positions.
If we were talking about next season than few names would pop up for selling and several will appear as potential purchases, but in this winter transfer all positions are covered and due to Valencia's financial situation any potential buy will have to be carefully considered.

Midfield - This season is possibly the best one in terms of midfield players in the last couple of years. Manuel Fernandes has already been offloaded to Besiktas on a loan deal. With Ever Banega and Tino Costa playing in a similar role and position there was just too much players on the same profile and with Emery's preseason 4-3-3 formation not working it was the logical choice to off load Fernandes.
Valencia are still filled with midfield players and have 2 or even 3 players ready to take positions. For example Maduro can play as offensive and defensive midfield and he also can play as a central defender. Tino Costa can play as a natural midfielder in a standard 4-4-2 formation or as an attacking midfielder.
Albelda is also still strong and fully fit and he still has playing time in him left. Topal is steadily going to be replacing Albelda as a defensive midfielder and he has already shown he is a good player and has had some great matches.
On the wings there are Vicente, Joaquin, Mata, Pablo, Alba who is also the deputy left back as well as Feghuoli who even though is an attacking midfield also plays on the right wing.

Attack - This is probably the one area where Valencia needs reinforcements, not because the current duo of Aduriz and Soldado are bad, but because they are the only natural strikers in the team and when Valencia play the 4-4-2 formation there is a need of a third striker, but also when one of the two gets injured.
This position is tricky because Valencia don't really need a top class striker, but he also needs to be good and at the same time willing to spend a lot of time on the bench, so a top class or at least a very good striker is out of the list.

There has been a lot of transfer rumors going around lately and there has been few names that are really worth purchasing and are great players, but the problem is that in order for Valencia to strengthen its squad it also must offload some players and that is hard to do. Also strengthening the squad now may not be whats going to be best for the next season and that is why Valencia is probably going to take its time and consider very carefully who if any they are going to buy.

My thoughts are that if we are to buy players now they need to be compatible with Valencia's next season squad, meaning they must be long term purchases, they occupy the positions of players that are going to leave in the summer and are good but cheap players. Having all this in mind here are my views:

IN: Leighton Baines (purchase, 7m), Ireneusz Jeleń (purchase, 4m)


OUT:  Manuel Fernandes (loan), Sofiane Feghuoli (loan), Chori Dominguez (sell, 2.5m)

Leighton is a left back who has played all his life in the Premier league, but at 26 he could adapt to Spanish football. Going for him is that he has a sight for assists and this is just the kind of left back any club would want. He is also strong and due to his experience in England can cope with most Spanish wingers. He may not come cheaply, but I think this can be a really good long term investment and the price of this guy is just going to go up.
I'm sure in the summer he will attract attention from bigger clubs and his price may rise skyhigh, so getting him now for a bargain of a price in comparison to his abilities would be a great decision. The problem would be that Everton would not be likely to let him go and a lot of negotiation would be needed to buy him.

Jelen is a Polish attacker that currently plays for Auxerre. He has been their best goalscorer and is highly regarded in France, but due to Auxerre position on the table and financial problems they may be willing to sell him, especially since at 29 he is not getting any younger. I think he would be the perfect addition for Valencia because he has played for a weaker French team and he would probably be delighted to come to Valencia and can be a substitute, but he is also very capable of scoring goals. So this would be a win win situation, though the slightly high 4 million euros transfer fee may be a little bit too much for Valencia to swallow, especially for a winter transfer.
Anyways I think these two players would fit really well with Valencia current squad and due to their positions Valencia would have an easier time in the summer market. Jelen can also play as a winger so he can be of ream value to Valencia.