Strike 6 for the referees this season. I'm starting to think it isn't a conspiracy against us, rather a curse from hell. At least two Rayo Vallecano players deserved red cards and at least one penalty for Valencia CF as well. Soldado was choke-slammed to the ground and the referee said play on. In the first half Feghuoli was fouled by Piti after he was on a yellow and what should have been even a straight red in many cases, tonight for this excuse of a referee it wasn't even a yellow.
As far as the real match is concerned it was a rather dull encounter, with both teams fighting in the middle of the park with Valencia CF overall having a few more chances, though nothing concrete that should have been a clear goal. Rayo Vallecano barely threatened towards Valencia goal and only had one dangerous shot that Diego saved. So while Valencia CF wasn't at its best, Rayo didn't deserve to win and until the penalty barely had one chance and just 3 shots on goal if I'm not mistaken.
Valencia CF play in the first half was rather mediocre with Tino Costa and Ever Banega failing to work together and allowing Rayo Vallecano to keep the ball in their feet, while Ever Banega and Tino Costa were too quick to spread the ball forward, not remembering to slow down and circle the ball and have build-up. The team looks so much better with Albelda on and I have a feeling we'd be seeing a lot more of him in the coming matches. Whether its the security he provides that the team is able to play more relaxed or the experience or a combination of things, he can somehow magically improve the whole team play.
Valencias play did improve in the second half after Parejo came in for Jonas and Valencia CF started controlling the match more, the team also had few good chances with shots from Soldado, Jonas, Tino and others. Soldado also had a good penalty claim as the was slammed to the ground with a choke move, but the foot of a referee allowed the play to continue, only to destroy the game towards the end by giving a non existent penalty for what would be seen in England as ballet, heck in Italy, Germany, you name it would be seen as ballet on eggs. I mean you might as well whistle if a feather touches a player.
I've got to say that since the season started I haven't liked Jonas at all. Apart from the first three games he has been bellow average and just hasn't contributed too much to the team. Feghuoli has also been hot and cold and today was very, very cold. I mean he might as well not play in these situations as he is more of a liability than anything else.
I also don't know why Piatti was substituted in the second half, rather than Jonas. He wasn't too visible on the left, but he did have few sprints that were dangerous, in fact he even had a good sprint alone towards the goal ruled offside, even though he was at least a meter back from the last Rayo defender. So overall just terrible refereeing at the expense of Valencia CF.
Technical Details:
Valencia CF (0): Diego Alves; Barragán, Rami (Cissokho, min.74’), Ricardo Costa, Guardado; Tino Costa, Éver; Feghouli, Jonas (Bernat, min.65’), Piatti (Parejo, min. 45’); Soldado.
Rayo Vallecano (1): Cobeño (Rubén, min.68’); Tito (Nacho, min.76’), Gálvez (Lass, min. 66’), Amat, Casado; Adrián, Trashorras; Vázquez, Chori Domínguez, Piti; Leo.
Goals: 0-1 Min 83’, Chori Domínguez (p.).
Player Ratings:
Diego 6 - Dealt with what little came his way, as a penalty specialist he really hasn't looked decent on penalties.
Barragan 6.5 - Good defensive display with great offensive forays, providing several good crosses.
Rami 6.5 - Dealth with the Rayo threat effectively and marshaled Chori most of the time.
R. Costa 6 - Didn't have much to deal with, though covered wel for Guardado on the left side when needed.
Guardado 6 - Good defensive display, though not great as he was beaten on a few occasions. Failed to provide much support going forward.
Tino Costa 5 - Did well in midfield and dropped deep to take and ball and move it forward, though failing to link up good with Ever. Guilty for committing a ballet move that was deemed foul by the referee.
Banega 5.5 - Partially better than Tino Costa, but lost way too many balls and too quick to try an outrageous pass which is why he had too many lost balls.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Somewhat involved in the first half, though spend more time falling and complaining than running and creating chances.
Jonas 5 - Had one terrible shot way above then goal early on and then a little better shot that just missed. Apart from those two shots, limited performance.
Piatti 5 - Wasn't involved in the play too much and cut out from the rest of the team. The best try he had was deemed offside and the chance was destroyed.
Soldado 5 - Subdued performance by the striker and looked lethargic for most of the match. Was fouled in the penalty area, but the referee didn't give a penalty.
Subs:
Parejo 5.5 - The play improved with his coming off as he added a much needed stability in the midfield, but wasn't too involved individually in the creation of the play or chances.
Bernat 5 - Failed to provide the penetration on the left, just as Piatti and Jonas failed before him.
Cissokho N/A - Not enough time.
