La Liga Review: A Mixed Bag For Valencia Teams On Matchday 22

La Liga review. What a weekend of football for Valencia’s top-flight teams. The La Liga results went like this: Valencia CF snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Elche were minutes away from a famous win at a European giant. Villareal won comfortably. And Levante lost a relegation six-pointer. Mark Pulley reports…

Let’s start with Valencia who found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-2 result against reigning champions Atlético Madrid. On the face of it I know that might sound respectable. Not many teams make a game of it at The Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. But, then, most teams don’t have a 2-0 lead at half-time. A deserved lead it was, too, thanks to goals from Yunus Musa and Hugo Duro in the 25th and 44th minute respectively.

Could Valencia pull off one of their best La Liga results this season?

To have any chance of holding onto their lead they knew they’d need to defend like George Graham’s Arsenal. Unfortunately, the way they defended a 64th minute corner was more like Graham Taylor’s England. The corner managed to find its way to the feet of Matheus Cunha, two yards out in the centre of the goal. It couldn’t have been easier. 

Surprisingly though, Valencia didn’t collapse after their mistake. They stood strong and kept Atlético out. Until the clock struck 90. The equaliser came when normal time ended. Ángel Correa pounced on another mistake. This time from keeper Doménech when he spilled a cross into the path of Correa. Maybe he was put off by the onrushing Luis Suárez but he still should’ve done better. 2-2.

This time they did collapse. Two minutes later Atlético completed the turnaround. Mario Hermoso looked offside when he tapped in at the back post. Unfortunately for Los Che, VAR proved that he was onside. The stadium erupted. Atlético claimed all three points. Valencia dropped two places to 10th. With no win in their last four La Liga results, it seems mid-table is more likely than a European challenge this year.

Next up: Elche could dare to dream

Elche fans wouldn’t have expected much from their trip to title favourites Real Madrid. They might have allowed themselves a smidgen of belief when Benzema blazed a 33rd minute penalty high into the stands. They certainly could start believing when Lucas Boyé continued his goalscoring form, heading home from six yards out. 1-0 Elche. 

Toni Kroos nearly equalised in first half stoppage time with a dipping free-kick. Forcing a great save from Elche keeper Badía. 

Surprisingly, nothing much happened until the 75th minute. That’s when star man Boyé went from scorer to supplier. His sublime close control freed him from the white shirts around him. Looking up he played the ball into the path of Pere Milla on the edge of the box. Milla took one touch and guided the ball across Courtoís into the far corner. 2-0 Elche. They were on course for one of their best La Liga results in recent history.

The inevitable came in the 81st minute

With nine minutes to go VAR whispered into the ref’s ear. A Madrid corner had hit Milla on the arm. It was a really soft penalty. But soft penalties are stonewall penalties in places like Santiago Bernabéu. The pen was given, Luka Modric stepped up and scored. In what was his first ever penalty in La Liga. Benzema hadn’t bottled it, he’d been taken off injured earlier in the half.

Elche had ten minutes to hang on. 2-0 or 2-1, they didn’t care. A win at the 13-time European Champions was all they wanted. They held on for exactly ten minutes, but there was another minute of stoppage-time remaining. And it was in this minute that Vinícius Jr delivered a cross from the left wing and his compatriot Éder Militão rose highest. He glanced the ball into the far post, past the helpless Badía. 2-2.

It was the last action of the game. One that will have felt like a defeat for the Elche players and fans. Still, the point kept them in 16th place in La Liga, five points from the relegation zone.

Villarreal and Levante: La Liga review round-up

This week’s La Liga review has some good news. Villarreal cruised to a comfortable win over Mallorca. Before the game there were fears about how The Yellow Submarine would score. They had ten first-team players out, including ALL of their forwards. So it was no surprise that their first goal was an own goal. Mallorca defender Franco Russo recklessly deflected into his own goal. Manu Trigueros doubled the lead after 34 minutes. Then Russo’s day went from bad to worse. He conceded a penalty and was sent off. A kind of curses hat-trick. Score an own goal, concede a penalty and get sent off. Not a great day at the office. Dani Parejo scored the penalty to put the gloss on an easy 3-0 win.

Levante went into their relegation six-pointer with Cadiz knowing a win was vital if they had any chance of staying in La Liga next season. Unfortunately, although they had more shots and much more possession, they couldn’t get a goal. Cadiz didn’t need many chances. They only had two shots on target. Scoring them both. Negredo headed home in the 34th minute, and Ponce sealed the win with 20 minutes remaining. Levante look doomed…

There are no games this coming weekend. So I’ll be back with another La Liga results roundup in two weeks… 

• As well as covering football and helping edit ‘Valencia Life’, Mark Pulley also writes especially about travel – with a focus on Valencia – at thesketchytraveller.com