Real Betis 1-0 Valencia CF Match Report

Another away match and another loss for Valencia CF and this is becoming the norm this season. Real Betis didn't really outplay us or create great chances, but their first good chance and they scored in the 10th minute. No one covered Sevilla and Diego Alves failed to stop the shot as well, even though he got to the ball.

The problem was with Valencia's response to the goal or lack thereof. In fact I don't remember Valencia having a chance of goal at all in the first half, maybe a shot off goal, but that was about it. Even though the streams were quite bad quality  and lagging a bit the problem was with the wings. We just didn't have the width on the pitch and all our build up play and attacks were tunneled in the center of the field, which Betis players covered very good.

In fact the wings were so bad that I rarely saw Bernat and Viera in the first half and the times where they did got the ball they'd return in backwards or to the middle, which does nothing to bring us in attack.

The midfield on the other hand was packed and it seemed like the players are playing against each other and trying to get out of each others way. Tino Costa for example played too deep, he should have been just behind the striker and not allowed to fall back more than the middle, while Albelda and Gago should have been more wide to each other in order to spread the ball more and support the wings.

Overall very ineffective play, especially in the first half and even though we improved a little in the second half and had some good chances even, we still lacked width and penetration on the wings, with Soldado being forced to go wide himself, which then left us with no striker at the penalty field. So it was just bad play after bad play individually and collectively.

Now I don't know if this is because of lack of tactics from Pellegrino or maybe the players don't get the tactics or maybe several were tired and fatigued from the Champions League match just few days ago, especially Tino Costa who's played pretty much all of the matches so far and to a certain extent Gago.

Its obvious there is a problem and we can all see it, question is now to what extent is it the coach fault and would another coach be able to fix the problem? Now I said we should be patient and not come to conclusions too fast, but time is ticking and while we need to have cool heads still, Pellegrino must be given an ultimatum of winning the next 3-4 games in a row or being sacked. We just can't afford few more losses like this, especially against weak opposition like Real Betis, I mean since when does Valencia CF have trouble beating Real Betis?

So yeah my thoughts are that Valencia CF president should give Mauricio Pellegrino an ultimatum that he needs to win the next 3-4 games in a row (CL excluded) or be sacked. We are already 7-11 points behind the top 4 and possibly to go 10-14 points behind, which we be really hard to make up the difference later on.

Again I'm not for sacking Pellegrino immediately, but he needs to be given an ultimatum and he needs to deliver in order to keep his job.

R. Betis (1): Adrián, Mario, Álex M., Paulao, Salva S. (Nono, min, 76), Joel (J. Molina, min. 69), Juan Carlos (Nacho, min, 86), Nosa, Cañas, Nelson y R. Castro.
Valencia CF (0): Diego Alves, Cissokho, Rami, Gago, Albelda (Ever, min. 46), Soldado, Pereira, Viera, R. Costa, Tino Costa (Guardado, min. 84) y Bernat (Valdez, min. 61).
Goals: 1-0, 8th min Salva S.

Player Ratings:
Diego 5.5 - Could have done more for the goal, had one good save in the second half.
Joao Pereira 6 - Not really troubled defensively, went forward to a certain extent, but not too active in attack.
Rami 5 - Decent in defense, though not good. At times shaky.
R. Costa 5 - Again no where to be found for the goal and not particularly secure.
Cissokho 5.5 - Had one blunder in the second half and almost gifted Betis a second goal, but other than that he was secure and went forward to a great extent.
Albelda 5 - Failed to cover or mark Sevilla for the goal and wasn't very effective otherwise.
Gago 5 - Wasn't really bad as much as he was shut down by Betis. Had some suspect passes though and some really bad crosses.
Tino Costa 5.5 - The better of the midfield trio, but that doesn't say much. Had a good free kick that the Betis goalkeeper saved.
Viera 5.5 - Invisible for most of the match, tried few through passes, but Soldado failed to pick them out and use them.
Soldado 5.5 - Had two good chances and failed to score from both, on one chances his first touch failed him and lost the ball. He did have good movement, but no end result.
Bernat 4 - Completely invisible, its obvious he needs to develop a lot more. Loaning him out in the winter would be a good idea.
Subs:
Banega 5.5 - Lifted up the team a bit and made some good combinations with players, tried few through passes as well, but wasn't particularly effective.
Valdez 5 - Came in on for Bernat and actually provided Soldado with one good chance and was more visible, but nothing of real substance.
Guardado N/A - Not enough time

John Terry will not join Valencia CF

John Terry to Valencia CF?

So there have been rumors that John Terry will leave Chelsea FC and join Valencia CF, but this is not the case at all. I can say that right now Valencia CF is looking to reduce the wages by dropping/selling 2-3 players next summer and thus this move would be completely illogical in spite of that fact.

Furthermore Chelsea just spend over 80 million euros this summer and are looking at spending additional 60 million for Falcao this winter transfer season, so they would be really in the negative as it is, not to mention search for another top quality defender when they already have problems as the back.

Ever Banega and Albelda back to the squad

Ever Banega and David Albelda are back in the squad again after a long period out because of injury for the match against Athletico Bilbao.

Ever Banega is featured the first time in almost a year, Mathieu is also available again, as is Ricardo Costa. Still injured are Pablo Piatti and Canales, while Sofiane Feghuoli is suspended.

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Barragán, Joao Pereira, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Ricardo Costa, Cissokho and Mathieu.
Midfielders: Gago, Albelda, Tino Costa, Parejo, Éver, Guardado, Viera, Bernat.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez and Soldado.

Copa Del Rey fixtures for 2012/13

The draw for the Spanish cup Copa del Rey have been announced this morning and Valencia CF for the first round got 3rd league minnows CF Llagosteru as their opponent.


1. Alcoyano (2a B)-Real Madrid
2. Llagostera (2a B)-Valencia
3. Cacereño (2a B)-Málaga
4. Deportivo Alavés (2a B)-Barcelona
5. Eibar (2a B)-Athletic Club
6. Real Jaén (2a B)-Atlético de Madrid
7. Melilla (2a B)-Levante
8. UD Las Palmas/Racing-Rayo Vallecano
9. Sporting de Gijón-Osasuna
10. Almería-Celta de Vigo
11. Córdoba-Real Sociedad
12. Ponferradina-Getafe
13. Valladolid-Betis
14. Deportivo- Mallorca
15. Zaragoza-Granada
16. Sevilla-Espanyol

Malaga want Carles Gil as replacement for Isco

Carles Gil Valencia CF

Malaga now want Carles Gil from Valencia CF B team, who now plays on loan at Elche and was one of their best players in the first few rounds before being injured.

Isco has become a star in Malaga and we all knew he was talented, we all knew he is going to become a great player, just not in Malaga. But since his rise to stardom the officials at Malaga are aware of the interest from bigger clubs from Isco and with their bad economic situation they are going to sell him in the summer and are looking for his replacement.

Carles Gil is basically the closest thing to Isco and has similar, albeit a little lower talent and potential as Isco.

That said Valencia CF is not selling and the club is likely to offer him an improved contract extension to keep him in Valencia CF.

UD Levante 1-0 Valencia CF Match Report

 Valencia CF just lost 1-0 to Levante the city rival. It wasn't like Levante were any good, they barely had few shots at goal, mostly long range from counter attacks. Thing is one mistake in the defense and Valencia CF was down 1-0.

Andres Guardado and Roberto Soldado

For those that didn't watch the match the goal for Levante came after their goalkeeper basically shot the ball over the midfield and Valencia's defense was so high up, some returning from attack that Martins found himself at the path of the ball with Tino Costa behind him, but Martins vs Tino Costa in running wasn't going to be a race, so basically Martins had a clear path to goal, he shot and it went it, Guaita had no chance.

I blame mostly Tino Costa, he was close to Martins, should have fouled him, he had no chance by chasing him. The wide players should have also been closer to the middle and cut the path to the goal, but they were way too wide and way too high as well.

Before and after Levante's goal Valencia CF dominated and were constantly attacking, Roberto Soldado has a huge chance just before Levante's goal in the 19th minute, but his first touch failed him and gave the ball away to Levante goalkeepers. Same minute after Soldado's chance Barkero had a chance from a quick counter attack, but his shot went wide.

Jonas and Soldado would have few good one-two's but the final pass was always missing, or simply the players making one too many passes. Jonas found himself in few shooting opportunities, but his shots were inaccurate.

Jonathas Viera was very active from the right wing in the first half, constantly probing and being involved in the actions, but unlike in previous matches the final pass was missing, although he did set up few decent chances that in a way got missed.

Tino Costa Valencia CF

In the second half Viera was largely anonymous, but Andres Guardado woke up and became really threatening down the right wing. In fact it was like a different player came out in the second half, pretty much being involved in most of the attacks and created most of the chances.

The big problem was that both Viera and Guardado only played one half, one in the first and one in the second and as such weren't nearly as threatening as they could have been if both were on top of their game in both halves.

Another player with a disappointing performance was Jonas, he pretty much ruined all the chances and attacks once the ball reached him. He was too slow, too clumsy and many all the wrong choices in this match.

Anyways Martins would have a good chance in the second half at the 47th minute, but Guaita saved, Levante also had two more big chances, both in the end when I believe Ruiz made a mistake and gave Levante a counter attack, luckily Levante sucked more than Valencia CF in attack and screwed up that chance. Then in the 85th minute Guaita made a terrific stop to a shot, after another mistake in defense.

Even though this is a terrible result and we have only eight points from seven match so far, its not the time to panic. Valencia CF suffered due to some critical mistakes in the back, I'm talking about the mistake for the goal and then few mistakes in towards the end in the second half, allowing Levante big counter attacking chances.

Now my analysis is that this is because of the high line tactic used in this match and some of the players being too adventurous and not falling back soon enough. We also clearly lack a proper defensive midfielder like Banega to stop such counter attacks from forming, clearly a job that neither Gago, not Tino Costa can do properly.

I saw both Gago and Tino changing their positions, so there wasn't a dedicated DM, one that would sit deeper all the time and I believe this is big part of the problem, because in a lot of cases both Tino and Gago and way too forward and there is no one to close down counter attacks. This puts a lot more pressure on the wing backs, forcing them to run more back and forth, limiting our attacking power.

So we need a small change in tactics when we play without a proper DM like Albelda. We either need Gago or Tino to sit deeper all the time and not go too much forward or we need a lower defensive line with one wing back sitting deep all the time, forming a 3 man defense when we attack.


Levante UD (1): Munúa; Pedro López, Ballesteros, D.Navarro, Juanfran; El Zhar (Ríos, min.71), Diop, Iborra (Michel, min.69), Juanlu (Rubén, min.71); Barkero y Martins.
Valencia CF  (0): Guaita; Pereira (Barragán, min.75), Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Cissokho; Viera, Gago, Tino Costa (Dani Parejo, min.62), Guardado; Jonas (Valdez, min.67) y Soldado.
Goals: 1-0 Min 21, Martins.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 6.5 - Wasn't tested too much, but he did make two wonderful saves that saved Valencia CF from a bigger loss. Didn't have any chance for the first goal.
Pereira 6 - Wasn't troubled defensively at all, but for the lack of defensive duties didn't offer much going forward.
Rami 6 - The better defender of the two today. Made few interceptions and generally comfortable performance.
Ruiz 4 - The weaker of the defenders, had few interceptions in the first half, though he made few mistakes in the second half as well.
Cissokho 7 - Blocked several shots and was solid defensively, went forward to a great extent, but his crosses were poor and few of them actually went out of play.
Gago 6 - Not a particularly effective display, kept possession, but unable to spread the ball effectively or build up play.
Tino 5 - Few too many times chose to shoot from a very long distance instead of make a logical pass, did actually better than Gago going forward, but was allowed Martins to score. He should have from the start go in to foul him and prevent the run that led to the goal in the first place.
Guardado 7 - A livewire in the second half, most of the actions started from him and was constantly active, running back and forth and stealing few balls in the process as well, but lacked some deeper more dangerous run.
Jonas 5.5 - Had few good one-two's with Soldado but he just wasted the opportunities and made the wrong decisions. Largely invisible and ineffective when active. Valencia clearly missed a creative and powerful attacking midfielder in this match.
Viera 7 - Amazing performance in the first half, constantly probing and dribbling, provided few quality passes as well before becoming mostly invisible in the second half
Soldado 6 - Good performance by Soldado, was very active and lively, releasing Jonas on two or three occasions, but he also missed a sitter himself in the 19th minute when he could have easily scored had his first touch not failed him.
Subs:
Parejo 5.5 - Didn't bring more than Tino offered before that. Was involved in few of the actions immediately after coming on, but soon after faded off and Valencia CF lost the possession it had previously.
Valdez 5 - Didn't bring anything different or more than Jonas. Run a lot and positioned well, but nothing really of substance.
Barragan 5.5 - Was missed from the start. Levante barely threatened in this match and he would have been really amazing with his powerful forward runs and good crosses. Provided several good crosses after coming on, but it was too little too late.

UD Levante vs Valencia CF Match Preview

UD Levante vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Ciutat de València

Date: 07.10.2012; 12:00 CET

7th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Juan Ignacio Martínez and Mauricio Pellegrino

UD Levante

UD Levante are coming to this match after two consecutive losses, first a big 4-0 loss at the hands of Osasuna away and then a 2-1 loss to German outfit Hannover 96 in the Europa League also in an away match. Before these two matches Levante is a mixed bag, they managed to get a draw against Atletico Madrid in their opening game and went on to loose three games and won 2 games.

Right now Levante are sitting 14th on the Spanish table with only 7 points out of 6 matches, 7 scored goals and 13 conceded goals. Even with this little matches you can clearly see that their defense is their main problem. I don't believe that all of a sudden they can't play, but I think it has to do with discipline, concentration and motivation. Last season qualification for the Europa League may have hit them on the head  and are having a slow start to the season.

UD Levante squad: to be announced...

Valencia CF

Valencia CF on the other hand are coming to this match after two consecutive wins one in the Spanish league against Real Zaragoza and one against Lille in the Champions league, both won two goals to zero. As such this is a perfect opportunity for Valencia CF to close the gap with the top 6 clubs and catch up for the Champions league competition slots, of course only if Valencia CF wins.

If Valencia CF looses this match its going to be a devastating loss and it may engage the panic mode within the board and fans, after all right now Valencia CF only has 8 points and tough start or not its not going to matter, especially since we lost points to Deportivo La Coruna and Mallorca. So this is a big must win match for several reasons, not to mention Mauricio Pellegrino job security. No coach wants to work under pressure and there will be pressure if Valencia loose this match.

A bit of good news is that Mathieu is back with the squad, though he is not very likely to start as he may lack fitness, also Banega is closer and clsoer to getting fit and may possibly be included in the squad towards the end of this month.  No new injuries have occurred so that is always good, especially since the crisis we've had with injuries this past month.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Barragán, Joao Pereira, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Carlos Delgado, Cissokho and Mathieu.
Midfielders: Gago, Tino Costa, Parejo, Guardado, Viera and Bernat.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez and Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):

Formation: 4-4-2

Line-up: Guaita; Pereira, Rami, Ruiz, Cissokho; Guardado, Tino, Gago, Viera; Jonas, Soldado.

Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, mixed passing, wing attacks mostly.

Result Prediction:

UD Levante 1-3 Valencia CF

I expect an easy big win against Levante. Historically we've always done well against them, we have the better squad, Valencia CF is in better form than them and Levante are having some defensive troubles having conceded 13 goals. So I fully expect a bigger win, something like 3-1 for Valencia CF.