On a
balmy Tuesday evening, two European superpowers clashed for Group F supremacy in
the Champions League. Giants and tournament favorites Bayern Munich made the
trip to the Mestalla for their away match against Valencia CF. Earlier that day
Lille got their first Champions League win of the season against BATE Borisov,
effectively ending the Belarusians’ Champions League dream and the French’s
Champions League nightmare. More importantly this result meant that both
Valencia and Bayern Munich were mathematically through to the knock out round
of the Champions League. There was still all to play for, however, as first and
second place in the group were still up for grabs, and both teams would have
their sights set on finishing top of the group. The game in the Mestalla was as
bitter sweet as it was exciting, and even though Valencia fans may feel hard
done, they can still keep their head held high after a hard fought 1-1 draw
which saw VCF reduced to 10 men.
The game
started promising for both sides, with the Germans attacking and dictating play
well while the Spaniards found a lot of room and were looking menacing on the
counter. The first chance came from the Germans as their shot on 9 minutes went
just wide. Valencia keeper Guaita showed his class by diving for the save and
pulling back at the last second, letting the ball fizzle out for a goal kick.
Bayern wouldn’t relent, however, and exposed some major holes in the Valencia
defense with some excellent passing play in the 17th minute, winning
a corner. This corner led to Bayern’s first shot on goal off a lovely header
from towering centerback Dante. His header couldn’t surpass Guaita, however,
who stopped the headed chance with a quality save. The 20th minute
saw the first yellow of the match after Valencia right back Barragan went in
hard on Ribery. Those who saw the game might argue that the yellow card was
harsh, but it was a poor tackle. Not long after in the 26th minute,
Bayern saw their first card of the game as Dante was painted yellow for a rough
tackle of his own. Valencia’s first good chance of the game came in the 32nd
minute after Soldado danced his way into the opponent’s area only to have the
ball tackled away from him. The ball found its way to Feghouli, however, and
the winger’s venomous shot was well saved by Bayern keeper Neuer. Two minutes
later the game would be turned on its head as Barragan saw red after a bad
tackle on Ribery. The right back was shown a straight red, and not a second
yellow, which could mean an extended suspension that could carry over to the
quarter finals if Valencia can reach that far. This is indeed bad news for VCF
coach Mauricio Pellegrino who is already without first choice right back Joao
Pereira and left back Jeremy Mathieu due to injury. The sending off saw
Feghouli move to a right wingback position, leaving him all to his lonesome on
the right side. In the 39th minute Bayern got another opportunity as
Claudio Pizarro’s good shot from outside the area was tipped wide by Guaita. This
save resulted in a quick counter by Valencia which almost lead to an own goal
from Dante, whose wild header was just tipped over the bar by Neuer. Right as
the half was drawing to a close Valencia got a good chance as Dani Parejo
linked up with Soldado after some nice passing play leading to a lovely back
heeled pass from Soldado for Feghouli, whose shot went just wide. The first
half closed after Bayern midfielder Javi Martinez brought down Feghouli,
earning himself a yellow card.
The
second half started without any changes to either side, a surprising move, as
Feghouli remained alone on the right side with the hefty responsibility of
guarding Ribery and producing offensively whenever possible. Despite being a
man short at the start of the half, Valencia came out of the gates all
cylinders blasting. The Spaniards pressed hard and in the 53rd
minute they had another good chance on goal, but Soldado’s solid header was
straight at Neuer who held the ball well. Valencia’s improvised back line
played magnificently, baffling Bayern’s offense who, despite having the lion’s
share of possession, could not find a way through the Valencia defenders.
Valencia got the best chance of the game at that point on the hour mark. Valencia
lined up for a corner and threw their tallest players at the swung in ball.
Neuer read the play well and came out for the ball, but made a meal of the
punch. Fortunately for him, every Valencia player missed their chance and the
open goal went begging. Only two minutes later Valencia got an even better
chance as Ever Banega slipped Soldado through on goal with a brilliant pass.
One on one with the goal keeper, goal poacher Soldado uncharacteristically
skied the ball and another clear chance went to waste. On 65 minutes Bayern
responded with a good chance of their own, but Muller’s shot was well saved by
Guaita. In an attempt to turn things around and galvanize his team, the Bayern
manager made a double substitution on 66 minutes, taking out Kroos and Pizarro
for Shaqiri and Mandzukic respectively. The change had an immediate impact as
Mandzukic’s first shot on goal clipped the post on its way out in the 70th
minute. In the 72nd minute Valencia were forced into their first
change of the match as midfielder Parejo badly rolled his ankle causing his
teammates to request a substitution. Jonas came on for Parejo, but no one
thought to tell Parejo who caused a bit of controversy by demanding the referee
let him reenter the game after he had recovered, confusing everyone. Moments
later Valencia shocked everyone by scoring a brilliantly worked goal. On 77
minutes Feghouli danced his way around three Bayern players, carrying the ball
from midfield to the top of the box where he unleashed a fierce shot at Neuer’s
goal. Dante clearly handballed the shot, but his attempt to foul and prevent
the goal only deflected the ball past his own keeper, resulting in the 1-0.
Valencia were delighted with the goal, but in hindsight might have preferred
the penalty as Dante, who had already seen yellow, would surely have been red
carded, evening the odds on the pitch and almost certainly resulting in a goal.
Bayern went into panic mode as Mario Gomez was brought on for Ribery on 79
minutes in an attempt to assault the Valencia goal. One minute later Ever
Banega was brought off for David Albelda, an obvious attempt to seal up
midfield and control the last ten minutes in the match. Bayern would draw level
in the 82nd minute, much to the dismay of the home crowd, as Mario
Gomez cushioned a low cross from Philippe Lahm allowing Muller to score a
placed shot. Bayern pushed on, attempting to finish the game off in the dying
minutes, but Guaita held firm, saving a good long distance effort from
Schweinsteiger. The end of the match ended with more bad news for Valencia as
both Guaita and Soldado received yellow cards, resulting in Soldado’s
suspension for the next Champions League match. The match ended 1-1 after a
thrilling and intense encounter, though Valencia will feel they should have come
away with all three points.
Valencia
played spectacularly resulting in a draw that extends an unbeaten streak at
home for the Spaniards. In fact I would say they played better with 10 men than
I’ve seen them play with 11 this season. Every Valencia player gave a five star
performance, but one player stood head and shoulders above the rest. That
player was Sofiane Feghouli. Barragan’s sending off left him isolated on the
right side, forcing him to play both offense and defense. Still, despite never
having played right back before, the Algerian international locked Ribery up
tight and got a goal to boot. Valencia have just one more group stage match,
and after this draw still find themselves level on points with Bayern Munich,
leaving the first place spot in the group very much up for grabs. Valencia will
play their next match at Lille, hoping for a victory and that BATE can revive
their giant slaying status with an unlikely win against Bayern. Let’s hope
Valencia can continue this good form and continue to impress. Amunt!
Player Ratings
Vicente
Guaita: 8.0- Incredible performance from the Valencia keeper. He kept just
about everything out, and he did it with class and style. No blame can be put
on him for the goal, it was simply a great play by Bayern
Aly
Cissokho: 8.1- Finally a performance he can be proud of in a Valencia jersey.
He didn’t produce too much on offense, but his running caused headaches for the
Bayern defense. Cissokho finally showed that he is a world class defender too,
making interceptions and key clearances. I counted five clears that would have
resulted in easy goals for Bayern had Cissokho not intervened; good on him.
Ricardo
Costa: 8.0- Energetic and solid, Costa was all over the pitch, providing
support and making key tackles.
Adil
Rami: 8.0- Same as Costa, strong and solid.
Antonio
Barragan: 5.0- Red carded in the 32nd minute. Perhaps it was harsh,
but he already had a yellow card and should have known better than to tackle
that hard. He performed well up to that point, but the red card put Valencia in
a precarious position.
Tino
Costa: 7.0- Helped boss midfield, passing was pinpoint as always, generally
good even if he was invisible at times.
Dani
Parejo: 7.4- I was surprised he played this well, honestly. In the past he was
prone to losing his head and making bad choices, but this game he was spot on
all over the pitch. His dribbling was slick and clean and his passing was
precise and effective, good game from him.
Ever
Banega: 8.0- Just great from the Argentine international. Having him on the
pitch really does make a notable difference. His ability to pass brilliantly
and control the tempo of the game is a real asset for Valencia.
Andres
Guardado: 7.0- Energetic performance from the Mexican international. He was
dangerous going forward and never put a foot wrong.
Sofiane
Feghouli: 10- Perfect game from Feghouli. Brilliant going forward and solid in
defense. Some of the responsibility for the Bayern goal falls on his shoulders
as he should have been marking Muller, but hell he was running the whole length
of the pitch for 60 minutes; anyone else would have made ten times as many
mistakes given the circumstances.
Roberto
Soldado: 6.9- Good game from the Valencia captain, though he did miss a clear
chance in the first half.
Subs
Jonas:
6.5- Pretty invisible, not really an impact player. Didn’t do anything wrong
though.
David
Albelda: N/A- Not on the pitch long enough to merit a rating
Nelson
Valdez: N/A-Same as Albelda
written by David Wall
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