Well, that was an excellent game – goals, misses, controversy, the lot. A fair result, all told, Real dominating much of the play but Valencia looking a threat whenever they went forward and deserving their draw. The main talking point will be that crazy few seconds midway through the second half: should Ronaldo have had a penalty (maybe)? Should Kovacic, almost immediately, really have received a straight red card for his late tackle (I don’t think so)?
Real and Benitez won’t like those two decisions. But in another madcap sequence of play, they seemed to have won it through Bale’s superb header before switching off 70 seconds later to let Alcacer nod in his equaliser. There was time for a basketball-esque finish right at the end, Ronaldo fluffing a header of his own (did Bale get in his way?) before Navas made a game-saving save from Negredo’s one-on-one and Bale, with the last kick, missed the target from the kind of half-chance he often converts. It was breathless entertainment.
Will it be enough to spare Benitez? We’ll see. Meantime, hope you enjoyed that as much as I did – see you soon.
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Full-time: Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid
And ... breathe!
90+3 min: Massive chance for Negredo! That third corner is cleared after Ronaldo miscues a seemingly free header, and Valencia counter at rapid speed, the ball played in for Negredo, one on one with Navas on the edge of the box. He has time to pick his spot, it seems, but the ‘keeper stands his ground, reads his effort and blocks, Gomes firing the rebound inches wide from 25 yards! Then Bale gets away at the other end, could *he* win it now? No – he lashes over with his left foot from an angle. What an ending!
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90+2 min: Marcelo wins a corner now, firing a cross-shot that is deflected out. Valencia’s Danilo heads out for another, and then Barragan concedes a third...
90 min: Valencia pressing now ... is there time for one last twist in what has been an exceedingly twisty game? There will be three added minutes.
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88 min: This time it’s cleared before Bale can work his magic again. The Welshman wins a corner seconds later though, which Modric puts in towards Pepe, who is penalised for leading with the arm on Jaume.
87 min: Another change for the home side, as De Paul is replaced by Javi Fuego. Then Valencia give away another dangerous right-sided free kick...
85 min: Valencia replace Parejo with Alvaro Negredo. Do they, against all odds, scent blood?
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Goal! Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid (Alcacer 83)
Oh my – no it hasn’t! Gomes cuts inside and crosses to the far post, where Rodrigo is totally unmarked! He unselfishly heads across to Alcacer with perhaps his first touch of the game, and the striker has the simple task of nodding home from five yards. The lead lasted a minute and 10 seconds!
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Goal! Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid (Bale 82)
He can’t do a lot about that! It’s swung in by Toni Kroos from the right, level with the edge of the D, and Bale’s header is technically outstanding. He leaps high at the near post, hangs in the air and flicks it up and over Jaume! Has that won it?
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81 min: Perhaps not – Cancelo has gone to left-back, I think. And he will have to help defend a dangerous free kick on his side now.
80 min: Rodrigo comes on for Valencia, replacing the left-back Orban, who has played well and seems to have a knock of some kind. That is an attacking move by Neville – Valencia seem to have gone with three at the back...
78 min: It is wasted, and Parejo then tackles Vazquez perfectly himself to get Valencia moving again.
77 min: Vazquez wins a corner for Real off Orban, whose tackle inside the box is well timed...
76 min: Bale crosses from the left towards Ronaldo, but the impressive Jaume is up to catch. Still a sense this could go either way.
74 min: Modric lets fly from fully 35 yards. It’s a good hit, and kept low, but Jaume is down well to gather.
73 min: Real seem rattled. Navas is slow to clear a slack backpass from Pepe, thuds it against Alcacer and is lucky to see the ball loop wide.
72 min: How does this change Valencia’s strategy? Keep it tight, still, or chase the win?
70 min: What a sequence of events. Literally a couple of seconds before that, Real had a big penalty shout – Ronaldo chasing a ball from the left that Jaume came for and missed, a combination of him and Abdennour seemingly clipping Ronaldo as he looked to take advantage. Hard to tell how much contact there was, but the appeals were prolonged – and then cut short when Kovacic was dismissed moments later! Kovacic’s tackle in the centre of the pitch was certainly late, but I’ve seen those punished less severely.
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Red card – Mateo Kovacic!
Real are down to 10 after the midfielder’s studs-showing tackle on Cancelo!
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67 min: A change for Real. Lucas Vazquez replaces Benzema, who started so sharply and scored a fine goal but seems to have a knock.
66 min: Just over from Ronaldo! Pepe starts the move, laying off for Marcelo and making for the box himself. The cross is deep and headed out to Ronaldo, who chests down and lashes a foot or two high.
65 min: Jaume is out quickly to smother at the feet of Kovacic, who has played well tonight, after a strong run.
64 min: The corner is poor, and cleared, but that was proof again that Valencia are dangerous when they do apply pressure.
63 min: Valencia very happy to sit in at the moment. You wonder if a bit more ambition – as they showed between minutes 30 and 45 – might yield even greater rewards, but you can also see why a point would be decent for them here. Just as I say that, their first real bit of pressure of the second period results in a Gomes 30-yarder being fisted over by Navas for a corner...
61 min: Danilo cuts inside Orban and, not for the first or second time, has a pop with his left foot. Not for the first or second time, he should have done something else – it’s down Jaume’s throat.
59 min: Ronaldo tries to tee Bale up for a shot but it’s too short and leads to Bale tripping Parejo as he tries to make something of it.
57 min: Cancelo has been dangerous in patches and links up again with Barragan inside the Real box, but the latter is looked for diving in late on Ramos.
55 min: Meanwhile, Marcelo runs into Barragan in a highly transparent bid for a spot kick. Barragan is unhappy about that.
55 min: Here is a take on Valencia and Neville, though, from Nick Viney –
“Long standing UK based Valencia fan here. The appointment process and duration of tenure commitment of Gary Neville concerning, but although results have not yet improved displays have (well, not full games but passages of play).
“Gomes showing form of last year tonight (post injury issues). Otamendi replacements rubbish, only Mustafi any good, and sorely missed.”
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54 min: Danilo evades a number of challenges on the right but nobody can get a head on his cross ... then Marcelo pops up on the other side and his attempt at a pull-back squeezes into the arms of Jaume. Valencia yet to show in this half.
52 min: Kovacic finds Ronaldo on the left of the box but Abdennour does well to clear.
50 min: Real much brighter now and Benzema squeezes to the left byline before squaring for Marcelo, whose close-range shot is blocked in the nick of time.
48 min: Ronaldo deigns to let Bale take it, and he fires a metre over the bar. Not sure he’ll be allowed to do that twice.
47 min: Real are, as in the first half, dictating the early play. And they win a free kick in Ronaldo range when Abdennour fouls Bale...
Peeeeeeeep! Second half begins!
Strap in...
Here is Chris Owens on Rafa, too:
“I’ll keep it brief. In response to your ‘[Rafa] can’t have felt this popular for a while’, it reminds me of the time he took Chelsea to Anfield and was booed by ‘his’ supporters, the away section (Chelsea) and cheered by his ‘opponents’, the home side (Liverpool). That was truly surreal! It shows the affection we still harbour for him, though!”
While I grab a coffee, here is Ruth Purdue’s take on Real:
“I find that one can not talk about Real without referring to Barcelona. Real look to their rivals and see a system in place, a youth system that works, beautiful playing style that allows them to winning everything in sight. Real almost always buy the talent and the style of play changes as often as the manager. I personally always liked Rafa tactically, especially in Europe.
“Their defence was destroyed by the best attack in the world. I have asked which front three another journalist of this paper would prefer. Ramos is an accident waiting to happen since the World Cup. Don’t get me started on Pepe. Only Varane seems a competent central defender.
“The problem that the Galatico system always has been balance. How do you balance a team with all that attacking talent and defend well? Rafa is trying to find that system, rather him than me! He’s doomed if he does, doomed if he doesn’t at that club.”
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Half-time: Valencia 1-1 Real Madrid
And that was the final action of the half! Well, well. Real took the lead with that beautifully-worked Benzema goal and looked in total control, but Valencia started to work up a head of steam around the half-hour, Cancelo missing a fine chance before Gomes and Abdennour both had close-range sights of goal, too. The equaliser was deserved, but it owed something to a bit of daft defending by Pepe, who had hitherto been very good. All to play for now – don’t go away!
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Goal! Valencia 1-1 Real Madrid (Parejo 45+1)
Converted clinically by Parejo, slid to the left of Navas, who dives the wrong way. It had been coming!
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Penalty to Valencia!
After Bale goes down fruitlessly at one end, Gomes counters down the left, tries to go round Pepe and the defender hauls him down! The home team have a golden chance!
43 min: Cancelo links up well with Barragan down the right, gets into the area and fizzes a ball across but Pepe, again, is in there to clear.
42 min: Bale arrows in a cross-shot towards the near post but Jaume gathers. Real haven’t offered much in the last 15 minutes.
41 min: Another corner for Valencia, as Cancelo feeds Alcacer and Pepe blocks again. This time it’s cleared with a touch more ease.
39 min: Chaos from the corner, as the ball hits Pepe, falls for Abdennour right in front of goal and seems to be ripe for finishing before Pepe recovers at the last possible moment to lash the ball out of play. Weirdly, a goal kick is given. Valencia knocking at the door.
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38 min: And another big chance from Valencia! De Paul feeds Gomes, who dances into the box and can see the whites of Navas’s eyes! But Ramos does really well to get across just in time, and deflects the shot out for a corner. That would surely have been 1-1. We await the corner while Modric gets some treatment.
36 min: Real win a corner, as Barragan gets in the way of Marcelo’s cross. It’s played short and ends up with Modric on the edge of the box. He skies his shot.
35 min: Marcelo plays the ball out, as Bale has a problem – he was caught quite nastily on the ankle/top of the foot by Gomes. Think he’ll be fine ... and play now continues.
33 min: A few signs in the last few minutes that Valencia may pack a punch, and that Real aren’t necessarily too composed at the back when pressed.
31 min: Ohhh, it should be 1-1! An excellent right-footed cross by De Paul finds Cancelo totally unmarked at the back post. He times his run well, gets up, nods it across Navas ... but wide. What a chance for Valencia!
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29 min: Now Valencia do get their foot on the ball, for the first time in a long time, but the move is broken up before De Paul can be released down the left. They go again and this time the left-back, Orban, gets a cross in and there’s a bit of a to-do in the Real defence at Marcelo’s attempt to nod back to Navas at the back post almost squirms away from the goalkeeper.
27 min: Alcacer is working hard up front for Valencia but is having to wait a while to get much support. He’ll need to keep plugging away down those channels if they’re to get much joy, you suspect.
25 min: Like possession stats? Real have had 63% of it so far. Now it’s Marcelo, the left back, attacking but he is thwarted as he gets to the edge of the area.
24 min: Real look composed and confident. Danilo remains prominent, playing virtually as a winger. But a Valencia break is halted, now, as Benzema goes down heavily under a challenge from Gomes, and the crowd are unhappy.
22 min: The error that initially gave Benzema possession was by the centre-back Abdennour, who by all accounts hasn’t been too popular at the Mestalla of late. Valencia are well on the back foot now and haven’t constructed anything since falling behind.
20 min: Just what Benitez needed, that, and Real had been threatening it without creating anything clear-cut. Big test for Neville now.
Goal! Valencia 0-1 Real Madrid (Benzema 16)
Benzema certainly got a sniff there, though! Beautiful goal. A poor clearance reached him a few yards outside the area but there was still much to do, with plenty of defenders back. He checked back and found Bale, who backheeled sublimely to Ronaldo, who turned and worked it back to Benzema, who had by now found space 18 yards out. His finish, low to Jaume’s right, was clinical. That was a delightful piece of interplay by the front three there, and Real lead!
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16 min: Kroos spreads wide to Danilo, who is by the right corner flag and seems – to these eyes and the crowd’s – to have run the ball out of play, but play continues. His cross, perhaps fortunately, is cut out before Benzema can get a sniff.
14 min: Parejo hits it into the wall.
14 min: Free-kick to Valencia some 25 yards out, after Kroos fouls the home team’s Danilo....
13 min: Pepe and Ramos both have a go at it, but eventually Valencia clear.
12 min: Ronaldo opens up down the left now, passing back to Benzema, whose shot is blocked. Then Abdennour comes mighty close to diverting a Bale cross past his own goalkeeper, Jaume, who is relieved to gather. Valencia look unconvincing at the back, and now concede a corner...
10 min: First corner of the night for Valencia as Pepe halts a Gomes run down the left. It’s flicked wide of the far post by Parejo, who might have done better after getting up for that one.
9 min: Then Benzema and Bale exchange passes, and the former almost gets away inside the area but Santos is across to stop the danger. Ronaldo was free on the right if Bale had spotted him.
8 min: Danilo involved again, this time crossing well from the right and it’s only just above the head of the diving Bale. Real with some promising early attacks.
7 min: “Rafa, you gave us the best years of our lives. Thank you,” reads a banner unfurled by the Valencia fans. He can’t have felt this popular for a while.
6 min: First flicker from Valencia as Cancelo slips the ball neatly through for Alcacer, who is beaten to the ball by a combination of Pepe and Navas. The home crowd want a penalty, but no way.
5 min: Good work from Bale and Benzema sees the ball worked – again – to Danilo’s left foot some 17 yards out. He has a decent sight of goal but it’s his swinger and he wafts the ball well over.
5 min: Ronaldo receives the ball from Bale and makes for the edge of the box, but he’s shut off expertly. A bit of space opened up there in front of the back four though.
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3 min: Marcelo is bundled over after a burst down the left. The free-kick is played short and eventually ends up with Danilo, whose ambitious left-footer is blocked.
2 min: Real enjoying – if they are really enjoying anything at the moment – most of the early possession, but mainly in harmless areas.
Peeeeeeeeeeeep! They're off
Madrid, in dark blue and shooting right to left, start the party.
Tonight’s referee is a Mr Sanchez Martinez.
The teams are in the tunnel at the Mestalla ... and now they emerge, bellowing some very un-Spanish “come on!” between each other. It sounds like a belting atmosphere.
@guardian_sport @NickAmes82 note that G. Neville has been very very poor. Losing this game narrowly will be a plus for him. Bad manager
— Dixon (@gee_pato) January 3, 2016
Who said we live in an era of snap judgments?
There is, of course, the Cristiano Ronaldo factor tonight too. While Neville savoured his victories against Benitez in the past, he also relished plenty on the same Manchester United team as Ronaldo. Can that help him at all tonight? Probably not, but it will be fun to find out.
As does José López:
“Since you are interested, most of us believe Rafa’s record so far has been dismal, verging on the farcical. But of course I’m just skimming the surface of the issue. There are other underlying problems in that club. The players seem aloof and actively sabotage their head manager. I can understand they don’t have good vibes with him and that tactically speaking they’re worlds apart, but where can employees get away with doing that to their manager? It’s blatantly obvious they are not chipping in. Quite pathetic.
“However, it’s RM’s chairman, Mr. Pérez, who grabs the limelight when it comes to talking about who’s to blame. As a good élite buisnessman he’s shrugged off the criticism and hasn’t shown a kernel of accountability over the (already a year long) latest slump. Remarkable how he’s scuppering any chances of a comeback or a long-term project.
So, this is the mood...”
Danny Robison has a Madrid-centric take for us:
“Madrid fan here, Benitez hasn’t been horrible, he turned the defence into a reliable back wall until Barca undid them and ever since has looked a little frail at times. However he isn’t the manager Real fans were looking or hoping for, with the likes of Klopp also avaliable why would you want little known Benetez? Ancelotti should never have been sacked but Perez needed to keep his reputation of axing managers left and right. I think a lot of the hate directed towards Rafa is because he’s basically Perez’s little pet, although I would love to see him sacked and replaced by a manager of higher pedigree, the boos directed at him should be directed at Perez instead.”
I was with you until the “little-known”, I think.
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Shaun Wilkinson writes in:
“I am not a fan of Benitez, but I look at the treatment he is getting at Real and wonder for the hundredth time - why would any coach go to Real Madrid? I am sure the money is good, and sure you get to work with good players, but there is literally nothing a coach can do there that does not end in white hankies and/or being hung out to dry by the President. Other than the big payoff following the sacking, what do they get out of it?”
By the way, Real have only won one of the last five meetings between these two. Last season, Valencia won 2-1 at the Mestalla (almost a year ago to the day) and drew 2-2, having been two up, at the Bernabeu. Should be close again tonight. Here’s the first of those games, to whet your appetite:
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Facetiousness aside, I’d be genuinely interested in the thoughts of any Real Madrid followers. Have things been that bad under Rafa? I’ll reproduce your analyses, pithy or otherwise.
Benitez will be in the visitors’ dugout at the Mestalla, where he won La Liga titles in 2002 and 2004, for the very first time. Despite the noise around him, he’s feeling confident:
Don’t forget that you can email your thoughts, should you wish, to the address above. Are United fans in the Valencia corner today, and Liverpool rooting for Real? Am I being unnecessarily simplistic/reductive/trying to start a brawl?
The eagle-eyed will note that each side has a Danilo. Valencia’s midfielder is less renowned than Madrid’s right-back; I’ll concoct some not-so-ingenious way of distinguishing between the two in the next 43 minutes. Or by all means suggest one.
The teams
Valencia: Jaume; Barragan, Abdennour, Santos, Orbán; Danilo, Parejo, André Gomes; Cancelo, Alcácer, De Paul. Subs: Ryan, Ruben Vezo, Negredo, Piatti, Rodrigo, Javi Fuego, Santi Mino.
Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Kovacic; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo. Subs: Castilla, Varane, Nacho, James, Casemiro, Lucas Vazquez, Isco.
James Rodriguez – reported to have been involved in a speeding incident last week – is on the bench for Real; Mateo Kovacic replaces him. Sergio Ramos is back.
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Valencia arrive in front of a decent crowd...
Old joke alert. Valencia park the bus. pic.twitter.com/xk1KCSsa3r
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) January 3, 2016
“Thought Benitez had left,” or some other facile wisecrack.
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Evening all
Nice place, Real Madrid, isn’t it? You can win seven games out of eight, score 10 goals in one of those fixtures and eight in another, and still find yourself on the brink of the chop. Rafa Benitez hasn’t always been a completely sympathetic character and one’s feelings towards anyone who opts to commit to such a tiresome soap opera of a football club sit somewhere between admiration and well-I-did-warn-you exasperation; you do, however, sense he’s getting a bit *too* much of a rough ride at the Bernabeu, where anyone would be on a hiding to nothing, and things will probably come to a head should he fall at the Mestalla – of all places – tonight.
Who could apply the killer blow? Oh, look, it’s Gary Neville! Gary Neville, who has been known to get a little excited about beating a Benitez side:
Things probably won’t get quite that fruity tonight; there’ve been the usual respectful pre-match words spoken, after all. But this is a very big event in Neville’s fledgling and possibly short-lived managerial career. Valencia have yet to win a league game under his charge, drawing twice and losing to Villarreal three days ago; that’s not got a lot to do with Neville but a result here would really bank him some credit and doubtless spark a chorus or two of premature noises about his eligibility for one or two other jobs.
The bare numbers chat is that a Real win in front of the crowd that used to worship Benitez would keep them in touch with leaders Atletico, behind whom they sit by five points. It would also put them level on points with second-placed Barcelona, who do have a game in hand. Any positive result for Valencia would, less excitingly, lift them from 11th to 10th.
So there you have it. A big fixture at the best of times, but one especially strewn with Narrative tonight. Kick-off is at 7.30pm UK time – so go nowhere, and tell everyone.
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Nick will be here soon enough. Meanwhile, read Sid Lowe on Rafa Benítez and his post-Christmas woes that remain in full swing over in Spain.
Rafa Benítez flew back to Spain earlier than had been originally planned but at least he flew back at all. After a few days at home on the Wirral – his “bunker”, they called it, a place where spending Christmas became “going to ground”, the sneaky coward – he caught an EasyJet to Barajas. There the Real Madrid manager was pursued out of Terminal 1 by a reporter who rattled off questions, culminating with “Are you happy, Rafa, yes or no?” and passers-by shouted helpful advice. Helpful advice like: leave. “Happy holidays,” he repeated as he kept on walking, the smile lasting until he was safely inside the taxi. If you can ever be safe inside a taxi.
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