Valencia 2-1 Real Madrid: Another Upset Of The Season

Valencia 2-1 Real Madrid, the tally looks too hard to digest but that is what we have been witnessing in the 2016/17 season, whether in the Premier League or The Champions leagues or even the La Liga.

When Zidane said “It’s clear that we lost the game in the first ten minutes. We started the game very poorly. Normally, our chief strength is the way we start games, but today it was the complete opposite. They scored two, then we did good things – but it was too late. In the first ten minutes, we weren’t smart or on our guard,” those were not just words, rather it was feelings of a torn down man.
 

Valencia may be witnessing another struggling season, but the club always seems to give Real a tough game at Mestalla and this encounter was no different. Los Blancos also didn’t have the best of records at the Mestalla, having lost and drawn the last 2 games at the stadium.

Moreover, In 2014-15, the club brought an end to the then Real Madrid manager, Ancelotti’s 22-match winning run, whose career came to an end after a couple of months. Last season, Zidane’s predecessor, Benitez led Los Blancos were held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia and it turned out to be his last match as Madrid boss.

The curse continues in the La Liga 2016/17 match between Valencia and Real Madrid as just 10 minutes into the game, the visitors were 2 goals behind without even scoring the opener, all thanks to Simone Zaza’s (4’) spectacular turn and half-volley which had the home fans on their feet. Moments later, a shell-shocked Madrid found themselves two behind a when Fabian Orellana (9’) scored his fifth goal of the season after a clinical counter-attack at the middle.

Real Madrid finally found their composure but it was already too late and Ronaldo’s magical header in the 44th minute was the only good thing that happened to the ‘Men In Whites’.

The second half saw a back and forth game at the Mestalla, Valencia still having an upper hand and Real Madrid leaving the back defenseless under pressure. At the final whistle, the score sheet reflected Valencia 2-1 Real Madrid, giving defending champions Barcelona a boost in the tally. Before this game, Barca was 7 good points behind their arch rivals and now they stand second with a solitary point holding them at the second position after Zidane’s men (52 points), with Sevilla (49) at the concluding the top three.

However, Real is still a game ahead in the league and they will be looking to bounce back immediately in the tricky tie against Villarreal on Sunday. The Viking are still the favorites for the La Liga title, which could be their first since the 2011-12 season and they need to learn from their mistakes as there is still a lot of football left in La Liga, including an El Classico.

Meanwhile, it was good to see Zidane expressing his concerns over the team but Twitter, as usual, didn’t fail to appreciate the brilliance of Zaza and trolled Real Madrid for their predicament.