0-1 Narration and statistics
It is difficult not to empathize with
Javi Gracia
and his laments when one looks at the line-up with which Valencia appeared at the Reale Arena, with no more than four or five players with the level one would expect from one of the greats of Spanish football.
And that, being generous.
But it is also fair to recognize the Navarrese coach for his work so that the team he directs can compete face to face against a block as established as Real.
In the absence of talent, effort and tactical discipline must be non-negotiable.
With that recipe and the stroke of luck that Real had a goal annulled in the last play of the game, Valencia achieved an unexpected victory that reinforces that morale.
Although it may also serve for someone in Singapore to reaffirm that no signings are necessary, of course.
The inability of the Real to convert their superior dominance into clear scoring chances contributed a lot to the triumph, let it be said.
Valencia forced him to discomfort during the first half, but after the break, the San Sebastian team became the master of the match, minimizing to the extreme a Valencia condemned to defend itself locked in the area.
That phase ended when
Imanol Alguacil
decided to make four changes at the same time and the Real lost its inertia.
It was then that
Maxi Gómez
scored the goal that put all three points in Valencia's suitcase.
It was surely an unfair victory, but also a reward for the good phases that Valencia had and their defensive solidity.
During the first half, he not only resisted, but even showed the San Sebastian team the spurs.
With
Daniel Wass
as a midfielder, Gracia's game made more sense than in previous games, although the toll was
Thierry Correia's
ownership
on the side.
The Portuguese could have been the proper name of the first half, but remained still after a rejection of
Remiro
to a hard shot from Wass, when he enjoyed an almost unbeatable shot option.
It was believed in offside.
It was not.
Four changes at once
The fact is that Valencia had two goal options in that first half, that of the Danish and a distant foul from Maxi Gómez, while Real only had one, through a shot from
Isak
doing, standing, a kind of scorpion.
Possession went to the Donostiarras, yes, but they did not take advantage of it, partly because
Mikel Merino
did not find the good feelings of the last weeks.
A deficit that was resolved after the break, with the entry of
Mikel Oyarzabal
and the step forward of
Adnan Januzaj
, a torture for
José Luis Gayà
until Alguacil took him off the field in the 67th minute, at which time he made four substitutions of one stroke.
Valencia had disappeared from the field, completely at the mercy of a Real that only needed to transform their offensive production into shots.
And that, in the long run, ends up paying.
It happened in the first attack play by the Gracia team in more than half an hour, in which the three best players of the 'che' team combined: Wass's opening to the wing from far away, Gayà's center already in the area and entry into Maxi Gómez's whirlwind to send the ball into the net.
La Real was left unsettled after the Uruguayan's unexpected goal and it took a while to rearm.
When she succeeded, she dedicated herself to bombarding centers in the area.
In the last of them, already in the 95th minute,
Robin Le Normand
scored a goal after a couple of rebounds.
Jaume claimed a foul, but what happened was that
Aritz Elustondo
, without even realizing it, had hit the ball with his hand just before.
The VAR saw what the referee had not seen, annulled the goal of the French central defender and Valencia felt saved by the bell, and theirs a victory that during most of the match seemed impossible.
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