Category: Match Report

Well, it had to happen. Dani Parejo, Valencia’s former long-serving captain, scoring the winning goal against Los Che to open his Villarreal account.

Squint a little and there was something oddly familiar about Valencia’s defeat to Real Betis at the Mestalla on Saturday night. This was a forgettable occasion for Javi Gracia’s under-conditioned team and revealed glimpses of what went wrong last season: shoddy defending, a lack of conviction and desire to win.

Just seconds before the first half ended, Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino surged into Valencia’s half attempting to start one last attack. Maxi Gomez was having none of that as The Bull made a 30-metre charge, barged into the midfielder, and received a yellow card for his troubles.

There were signs last week that Los Che have a weak spine running through the team. Saturday evening at the Balaidos Stadium confirmed it, as Celta Vigo toyed with the Valencia defence seemingly at will.

Twice they fell behind. Twice they fought back and finally secured victory. After a turbulent summer, after many had said that Valencia would be wiped out this season, this was the start that new coach Javi Gracia and his young team badly needed. In a silent Mestalla, the boys kept roaring back and bagged all three points.

How quickly fortunes can change within a year. When Valencia played their final home game last season, the atmosphere at the Mestalla was thunderous as fans roared a team fighting furiously for a Champions League place to victory over Alaves.

Remember when we beat Barcelona and smashed Ajax? Oh, those were magical nights, filled with passion and desire. Those days are gone.