PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Valencia CF - Player Ratings

Diego 6.5 (MotM) - Did not have too much work, but reacted superbly two times to save the goal.
Bruno 5.5 - Had a good performance overall, but was at fault for PSV goal.
Rami 6.5 - Good defensive display with no major mistakes, also scored the goal for Valencia.
Dealbert 6 - Good performance, did well to stop most threats with Rami.
Alba 6.5 - Great performance by Alba, great defensively and had one good forward run that tested PSV keeper. More quiet in the second half though.
Albelda 5 - Decent performance by the captain, but you can really tell he is running on half gas. Did well defensively, but did not get involved in passes and avoided them as much as possible.
Tino Costa 4.5 (FotM) - Another weak performance with lots of mistakes and inaccurate passes. Failed to control the midfield also.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Willing runner and did cover a lot of ground, but wasn't a threat in attack at all.
Jonas 5 - Few nice touches here and there, but nothing worthwhile.
Mathieu 5.5 - Same as Feghuoli with a more defensive role in the second half. He dealt decently with attacks coming from the left side.
Aduriz 5 - He had one header and that was about it. Didn't have too much service and couldn't create anything for himself either.
Subs:
Topal 5.5 - Late substitution over Albelda and did well enough for Valencia to close out the match.
Piatti N/A - Not enough time
Parejo N/A - Not enough time

Manuel Llorente talks directly to Lass Bangoura

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente has met with Rayo Vallecano player Lass Bangoura and asked the played if he'd like to join Valencia CF. This move was made because of reports that Atletico Madrid has reached an agreement with the player to transfer to their team, so Llorente wanted to know if the player would like to join Valencia CF.

Alhassane “Lass” Bangoura (born on 30 March 1992 in Conakry) is a Guinean footballer who plays for Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, as a forward or a left wing.

He is obviosly a reinforcement for the left wing, as this season the lack of options there has been really exposed and Emery has been forced into using Mathieu as a makeshift left wing.

Demand Manuel Llorente speak with players as well

Hey all. We need to demand for Valencia CF president to talk with the players as well. He's had few meetings with Unai Emery, but I think the players need to be engaged as well.

We can't blame Unai Emery for every bad result and while I do think he should leave in the summer(I've been a huge supporter of him until recently) we need to get the results this season like finishing 3rd and going to the Europa League quarter final and at least semi final.

They can't be shielded from responsibility, because its the players who are ultimately playing.

I'm not going to allow Jeremy Mathieu to play like a dead corpse now for more than a month, playing without any kind of motivation or conviction.
Adil Rami has been playing terribly for at least a month as well and Tino Costa has been the worst player in the past two months and hasn't really been prime example in training or private life either with conflicts with the coach because he didn't train hard enough few times and now the latest re-tweeting a tweet and calling for the dismissal of Emery and Llorente.

We need the right kind of attitude and we need it right now and Manuel Llorente needs to have a talk with the players as well and we also need Albelda the captain and oldest players of the club to come out and demand the team improve!

I'm calling on everyone to mail, call, email and those who can meet with the team officials and demand Llorente speaks with the players and demand accountability from the players as well.

prensa@valenciacf.es (English and Spanish)

Tel: 0034 902 01 19 19
Fax: 0034 96 337 50 93

Valencia CF 2-2 RCD Mallorca - Player ratings

Guaita 5.5 - Had one intervention and that was about it. Couldn't do anything about the goals.
Barragan 5.5 - Again started amazingly with constant attacks and good defending, but like against PSV allowed Nsue for the first goal and was also out of position to block the cross for the second one.
Rami 5.5 - Was not troubled and had little to deal with, complicated stuff when he lost the ball in dangerous positions twice.
Dealbert 6 - Wasn't troubled and had a decent performance.
Alba 5.5 - Not particularly troubled in defense and failed to do much offensively.
Tino 6 - Started well with good movement and passing, scored a goal, but then went missing in the second half until he got himself sent off for a needless foul.
Parejo 6 - Nice and accurate passing, buzzed from left to center, but as Tino went missing in the second half.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Some decent runs and crosses, but Barragan did most of the attacking and Feghuoli was more of a support.
Jonas 6 - Quite active in the first half with good movement and few shots, but failed to score from good positions and fizzled out as the game progressed.
Aduriz 6.5 (MotM) - Quite effective and dangerous in attack, scored an easy goal, but at least he found himself in the right spot for it, strange that he was replaced over Soldado.
Soldado 6 - Did well enough and had few opportunities, but failed to score.
Subs:
Mathieu 3.5 (FotM) - Came on and allowed Victor to score. I mean that was pretty bad and is directly responsible for the loss today
Piatti N/A - Not enough time
Topal N/A - Not enough time

Valencia CF vs RCD Mallorca - Match Preview

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a pretty good win over PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League and while the team could have managed to have a 4 goals lead going into Holland, the match ended 4-2 and Valencia CF has 2 goals lead for the second leg. First though Valencia CF face RCD Mallorca in the Spanish league and need to get a victory today in order to create a distance over few rivals who are mounting assault on the 3rd position like Atletico Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and even Malaga and Levante.

Malaga are now in 4th position after beating Levante yesterday and are only 3 points behind us, so this is a key match and one Valencia must win. Failure to win and this can put Valencia's cherished 3rd position in question and we can all agree that automatic qualification to the Champions League is a must.

Valencia CF coach Unai Emery has pretty much all players available and for the first time in quite a while Emery has taken Hedwiges Maduro in the team, after a long pause because of an injury. Bruno is also back in the squad and is likely to start over Barragan. Bernat was also with Emery holding a press conference before the match, so we might see Juan Bernat start for Valencia CF, in what would be his second start.

Valencia CF squad:

• Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
• Defense: Barragán, Bruno, Dealbert, Maduro, Rami, Mathieu, Jordi Alba.
• Midfield: Albelda, Tino Costa, Topal, Parejo, Feghouli, Piatti, Bernat.
• Attackers: Jonas, Aduriz, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Bruno, Rami, Dealbert, Alba; Topal, Tino Costa; Feghuoli, Jonas, Bernat; Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, interchangeable attacking trio, mixed passing.

Technical Details RCD Mallorca (probable setups):
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: D. Aouate; Jose Nunes, Ramis, Caceres, Chico; Pereira, Marti, Gonzalo Castro, Victor; Alfaro, Nsue.
Tactics: Low defensive line, wing attacks, crosses and counter attacks.

 

Valencia CF 2-0 RCD Mallorca

I have a feeling that after the good match against PSV Valencia CF is going to win and I think the team will score two goals, one in each half.

 

Betting odds:

Valencia	1.30
draw	3.00
Mallorca	9.00

Javi Martinez and Bruno Soriano on Valencia's radar

Valencia CF is interested in Javi Martinez from Atletico Bilbao and Bruno Soriano from Villarreal.

Javi Martinez has been Bilbao's star for at least 2 years now and has had tremendous success with his club and national team in all range groups he's played.

Valencia's top officials want to get rid of Maduro in the summer and whispers have it that they are not too pleased with Topal either so they are looking for someone young and talented to strengthen that position and be a long term investment as well and Javi Martinez fits the bill perfectly.

Another player Valencia CF is monitoring and has expressed interest is Villarreal's Bruno Soriano. Valencia CF is impressed with Soriano and has contacted Villarreal to ask about the player. With Villarreal being is such a bad shape financially and sporting wise its very likely a deal can be made if the price is right and the player is likely to want to join Valencia CF.

Valencia CF 4-2 PSV Eindhoven - Player Ratings

Diego 6 - Had one good save and decent in the air punching several crosses. Couldn't do anything about the goals.
Barragan 6 - Started brilliantly and involved in a lot of attacks, providing 1 assist and dealt with danger at the back, but then in the final moments allowed PSV to score the second goal.
R. Costa 5 - Not troubled when he was on the field, injured himself and replaced by Rami.
Ruiz 7 - Great performance by Ruiz, defended very good and scored a goal as well.
Mathieu 5 - Decent performance in attack and defense, allowed the cross to be made that lead to the second PSV goal and gave away the penalty.
Albelda 5 - Quite ineffective, run away from the ball and never available to be played on. Got tired towards the end and allowed PSV to mount attack after attack.
Parejo 7 - Good performance by the former Getafe man, good skills on the ball and good passing all round, provided an assist as well.
Pablo 5 - Not too involved and while he had some forward forays, wasn't particularly effective.
Jonas 5.5 - Did well with his passing and has good vision, but should have done better with some of the shooting opportunities he had.
Piatti 7.5 (MotM) - Man of the match performance from Piatti who created the first goal, scored the fourth goal and was very active and dangerous thought the match.
Soldado 7 - Scored two goals, albeit one from a penalty.
Subs:
Rami 4 (FotM) - Miserable performance from the French. I'm starting to dislike him and I don't think he should be allowed to play for the rest of the season. I just don't think he is good enough.
Bernat 4 - Did nothing of note and missed a great opportunity to put Valencia up by 5 goals.
Aduriz 5 - Had one decent chance, but other than that wasn't very threatening.