He Mallorca has dealt a severe blow to Valencia by defeating him this Thursday in Son Moix by 1-0, gol del kosovar Vedat Muriqian inconsequential victory for the vermillions, saved two days ago from any contingency due to relegation, but devastating for a Ché team that will have to continue rowing in the final stretch of the championship to ensure the stay in First Division.
The two teams faced the game with news in their ranks: Javier Aguirresurprisingly, lined up South Korean and former Valencian player Kang In Lee at left-back and resorted to Zimbabwean Tino Kadewere to accompany up “Pirate” Muriqi.
Rubén Baraja, for his part, gave continuity to the homegrown players Diego López and Samuel Lino and sat on the benchinitially, to two heavyweights in the attack, like the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani and the Dutch Justin Kluivert.
Valencia took command of the clash from the start, although it lacked depth in the final meters. The best chance came with a loose shot by Diego López (min. 30) very close to the goal line, although the Serbian goalkeepero Predrag Rajkovic deflected the ball into a corner.
Muriqi lacked a partner above. With Lee far behind, the Kosovar barely touched the ball; Mallorca, very comfortable, with salvation in their pocket, ceded dominance to the Ché team, waiting for a counterattack.
Aguirre rectified in the second half, seating Amath Ndiayé and moving Lee forward to his natural position: midfielder. Jaume Costa, also a former Valencian player, took his usual position on the left side.
With the return to normality in the tactical drawing on the grass, the vermillions made a leap in quality; and it was immediately noticeable. Lee hooked a measured cross from the left that Muriqi connected headlong into the net in an unappealable manner to score his 14th goal of the season.
The Lee-Muriqi partnership worked out perfectly, as it has all season. And Valencia, with a disadvantage on the scoreboard, was in a hurry; Baraja brought on Samu Castillejo, Justin Kluivert, Edinson Cavani and Martí to activate his attack.
Kluivert, precisely, had the tie (min. 80) with a great shot that forced Rajkovica to be used thoroughly min 80 providential stop of Rajkovic.
It was the best opportunity for Valencia to rescue at least one point. It did not materialize against a rival who knew how to stop the already desperate visiting attack and who celebrated a new victory with his fans, the thirteenth of a round season for Javier Aguirre’s team.
2023-05-25 20:00:43
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