After a tough season so far Valencia are hitting form just at the right time – with all still to play for in the Europa League, Copa del Rey and race for the fourth spot in La Liga.
Sunday’s 3-1 La Liga derbi victory over city rivals Levante, following another 3-1 victory in Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first leg at regional neighbors Villarreal, has confirmed that Marcelino Garcia Toral’s side are on the up.
The star at Mestalla on Sunday was Goncalo Guedes, back firing again after a difficult first half of the season. Starting from a more central role, the Portuguese was full of pace and threat, laying on the opening goal for strike partner Santi Mina and then hitting his team’s key second soon after Levante had equalised early in the second half.
Get ready to cheer on Valencia CF tomorrow!@EuropaLeague ⌛️ pic.twitter.com/WAZFWHT4rZ
— Valencia CF English (@valenciacf_en) April 17, 2019
“Guedes played his best game of the season,” said Marcelino afterwards. “He was coming off more good performances, confident from scoring goals. [Although] I always think that individual performance is based on the collective performance. We played a very complete game today, and he benefited from that.”
Things are very different now from back in January, when 2019 began with consecutive defeats in Liga and Copa to Alaves and Segunda side Sporting Gijon and Marcelino appeared close to the sack. At that point it seemed the entire 2018/19 would be a write off.
There were zero wins in their first six La Liga games, while they never looked like progressing from a tough Champions League group along with Manchester United and Juventus. A sense of fatality was fed by eight draws in 10 games through September and October.
Injuries to key players including Guedes and Geoffrey Kondogbia were a blow, but the biggest problem was in front of goal – where Spain international centre-forward Rodrigo Moreno went 18 games without finding the net. Marcelino's persistence with a favoured hard running and attritional style of play which often draws comparisons with Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid was especially a source of frustration for local fans and pundits.
Gonçalo Guedes didn’t score in 8 months for Valencia. Since march 10th, he’s scored 6 goals and assisted another.
⚽️ vs Girona
⚽️ vs Krasnodar
⚽️ vs Real Madrid
⚽️⚽️ vs Villarreal
⚽️ vs LevanteMan’s on fire. pic.twitter.com/eQ6iHiQV0i
— DF Football (@dffooty) April 15, 2019
Marcelino is a tough character though, and not one for turning. It is never quite clear how much interest owner Peter Lim really has in the team’s on-pitch matters, but the club’s decision makers do deserve credit for sticking with the Asturian when under pressure to make a change.
With injuries clearing, the team also kept their heads through very tricky Copa del Rey ties against Getafe and Real Betis to qualify for the end of season Copa final against Barcelona. Celebrations around the club’s 100th birthday last month were also a rallying point, while well deserved La Liga victories at Sevilla and at home to Real Madrid, driven by influential club captain Dani Parejo, confirmed Valencia were back.
Lim’s rare visit for Sunday's derby victory also coincided with club president Anil Murthy again talking optimistically of future progress at their long stalled ‘New Mestalla’ stadium. More concretely, the club’s Paterna youth system continues to provide exciting talents for the senior side. Carlos Soler, 22, is now firmly established as one of La Liga’s most interesting creative midfielders, drawing interest from Tottenham and others.
Zippy winger Ferran Torres is making good on the potential shown with Spain’s underage teams, with Adidas including the 19-year-old alongside Juve's Moise Kean and Benfica's Joao Felix in their latest emerging talents promotion. Next up is South Korean winger Lee Kang-In, 18, who already has an €80 million release clause.
LA LIGA | A young Valencia strike corps showed no mercy vs. relegation-threatened Levante ⤵️
Gonçalo Guedes (22)
1 goal, 1 assistSanti Mina (23)
2 goalsCarlos Soler (22)
1 assist, 1 own goalGuedes is a rockstar these days! pic.twitter.com/fUdMsrpY9o
— Football Wonderkidz (@FootWonderkidz) April 14, 2019
In the shorter term, assuming their 3-1 first leg lead over Villarreal is enough to progress through Thursday’s second leg at the Estadio de la Ceramica, Valencia would pose a tough test for potential Europa League semi-final opponents Arsenal and Chelsea.
A tie against the Gunners would be particularly emotional, bringing Unai Emery back to the club where he was never appreciated enough for making them the 'best of the rest' behind Barca, Madrid and Atletico.
The historical peculiarity of Valencia as a club surfaced again when they followed the rousing home victory over Madrid by losing 2-0 at 19th placed Rayo Vallecano, a blow in the tight race for fourth spot in La Liga with Getafe and Sevilla. On Sunday Marcelino made clear his team needed everyone around the club to get behind them for the next few weeks.
“It is difficult for me to understand how a team which can aim for everything can then be [described as] a team playing at nothing,” Mar said. “Negativity can enter the dressingroom. We have just lost one game from the last 20. This team deserves respect and admiration. And above all support. That will be decisive for what is in front of us now.”
Valencia fans are used to rollercoaster rides and have not celebrated a trophy since the 2008 Copa del Rey. The way Marcelino and his team have kept their heads through recent months bodes well though. A season which promised very little over its first half could still end in some well.
