Valencia had the better of the chances at Estadio de Mestalla on Saturday but lacked the finishing touch, drawing 0-0 with Athletic Club in La Liga’s round nine. Javier Aguirre’s side registered 16 shots and an expected goals figure of 1.49, more than double Athletic Club’s 0.65, yet Unai Simón was seldom tested, making three saves to preserve parity. For a Valencia side sitting 19th in the table with six points from nine matches, a point against a mid-table opponent will do little to ease the pressure building around Mestalla.
Key Moments
- 19′, Dani Raba picked up a yellow card for a foul, a booking that would factor into Aguirre’s decision to withdraw him at half-time.
- 38′, Aymeric Laporte was cautioned for a foul as Athletic Club’s discipline began to slip in the final stages of the first half.
- 42′, Beñat Gerenabarrena was booked for handball, compounding Athletic Club’s disciplinary problems before the break.
- 45′, Gerenabarrena was withdrawn at the interval after his yellow card, with Mikel Jauregizar coming on to steady the midfield.
- 54′, Aguirre made a double change, bringing on Luis Rioja and David Otorbi for Dani Raba and Hugo Duro, in an attempt to inject more attacking thrust.
- 63′, Athletic Club reshuffled with three substitutions in quick succession: Jesús Areso, Alejandro Rego, and the substitute Gorka Guruzeta all entered as Johaneko Louis-Jean, Iñigo Ruiz De Galarreta, and Iñaki Williams were withdrawn.
- 68′, Athletic Club’s rotations continued with Maroan Sannadi replacing Gorka Guruzeta, barely five minutes after the striker had come on.
- 74′, Harvey Elliott was introduced for the final quarter-hour in place of J. De Haas, giving Valencia more creativity in wide areas.
- 87′, José Luis García Vayá was booked for a late foul as frustration mounted for the hosts.
- 90′, César Tárrega picked up a yellow card in stoppage time as the match ended without incident or goals.
Tactical Breakdown
Athletic Club dominated possession, finishing with 63 percent of the ball and 568 passes to Valencia’s 334. Yet their territorial control rarely translated into danger, as they managed just nine total shots with only two on target. The 4-2-3-1 shape set up by their visiting manager allowed Robert Navarro and Peio Canales to circulate the ball comfortably in midfield, but the final ball from Álex Berenguer and others was consistently lacking, and a 0.65 xG tells the story.
The tactical pivot came in the 54th minute when Aguirre pulled off a double substitution, withdrawing the booked Dani Raba and a misfiring Hugo Duro for Luis Rioja and David Otorbi. The move briefly gave Valencia’s attack a different look, and the 13 shots inside the box they registered overall suggested repeated penetration, if not the quality needed to convert. Athletic Club’s own wave of changes around the 63rd minute, which included bringing on Alejandro Rego and eventually Maroan Sannadi, disrupted the visitors’ rhythm without adding much going forward.
What cost Athletic Club more than anything was the trio of yellow cards in a 15-minute span before half-time, which forced them into a half-time substitution and a more cautious approach thereafter. For Valencia, the culprit was finishing. With 12 shots off target and only three on goal from 16 attempts, the underlying number of 1.49 xG was there; the execution was not.
Player Ratings
Match Context
Standings
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Verdict
The point leaves Valencia in 19th place with six points, still in the relegation zone and without a win in their last four. Athletic Club collect their third draw in a row, sitting ninth on nine points, and will need to find more of an attacking edge if they want to push up the table in the weeks ahead.