Chelsea drop points. Diego Alves responsible.

The Mestalla let out a sigh of relief on Wednesday as Valencia managed to hold onto a one all draw against a dynamic and relentless Chelsea. Andre Villas Boas has reignited the London club since arriving in June, and this was shown in abondence this week in the Champions League.

However, despite Chelsea's superior physicality and use of the ball Valencia fought till the end and finished with a vital point to keep the fight for qualifying past the group stage alive. Admittedly, the manner in which the currently ranked seventh team in Spain equalised can be seen as fortunate, coming from the bizarre decision from, recently brought on, Salomon Kalou to blatantly handle the ball in his own box and concede a penalty in the 87 minute.

It was the Valencian captain, and recently touted replacement number 9 for "la seleccion", Roberto Soldado who had no hesitation converting the ensuing spot kick and saving his side from blushes. But, without doubt Valencia's hero of the night was the irrepressible Diego Alves between the sticks. The Brazilian frustrated the Chelsea front line on several occasions, stopping five clear-cut changes.

That's not to say that the Spanish outfit didn't create anything during the game. The Chelsea back line was caught out on a few occasions and Cech's shorts would have definitely required a scrubbing after the final whistle, having had to dive on more than one occasion.

Nonetheless, the salvaged point came as a surprise to everyone watching the game and was evident from the joyous celebrations from the home supporter at full time. The English club took the initiative from the second minute, pounching on a sloppy pass from within the oppositions half which ended with Fernando Torres, about to line up a routine side kick into the far corner of the onrushing Alves, being clumsily bowled over by the backtracking Adil Rami. The Italian referee, Nicola Rizzoli, decided against rewarding what surely should have been a penalty so early on.

But Chelsea showed no signs of being disheartened and continued to dominate the game and put a halt to any Valencia attempts to catch them on the back foot, as they did so effectively against Barcelona in La Liga a week ago. Ever the stickler for tactical finesse, Villa Boas planned this encounter to perfection, causing Emery's side to play the ball back time and time again, as a result of finding nothing to play into but a sea of blue shirts. Mathieu, on the right, had nothing to play with and was made to hit long and hopefully a number times during the first half. Obi Mikel and, the returning, Frank Lampard were a hand full in the middle of the park, forcing the usually creative, Sergio Canales to drop deep and dig out a hassled David Banega.

The second half began with Alves being called on to make a series saves from close-range, some of which seemed destined to test the Mestalla groundsman's ability to hang nets as required by the UFEA directives. A bullet of a header from Torres, a volley from Ramires and a dangerous deflection from Victor Ruiz couldn't pass the Brazilian. However, the one man show was interrupted when Lampard scored, after some fantastic play from Maloude on the right.

Valencia eventually found some form with Emery deciding to mix things up and bring on Jonas, Piatti and Feghouli to sit behind Soldado and offer more dynamism up front.

Canales showed his class late on in the middle, making a number of sublime passes. Soldado was given a chance to level from the on loan Real Madrid player, when a lofted ball from the right was placed to within a millimetre of the on-running number 9 at the far post, but a tight angle meant John Terry easily cleared it to safety. This was quickly followed by Piatti controling the ball beautifully with his chest and firing over with only Cech to beat, after a Xavi-esque pass from Canales split the Premiership side. The 20 year old again showed his class, this time cheekily pulling the ball back on his left and, in the same move, passing to Jonas on the edge of the Chelsea box, who shot well, only to be denied by a fully stretched Cech, who knocked the ball wide for a corner.

This was the decisive corner which saw Kalou gift the home side with an opportunity to equalise. Valencia graciously accepted the Ivorian's generosity and can go into this Saturday's league match against Granada with their heads held high. Obviously though, performances like Alves' can not be relied on in every match, and Emery will have to work on ways of dealing with teams inevitably defending deep against them.

Sevilla vs Valencia 24/09/2011

Leading up to today's encounter with Valencia, Marcelino Garcìa Toral, the Sevilla coach, correctly predicted that his side would take all three points. Although a missed penalty from the opponents almost had the Asturian eating his words, the home side was able to hold onto a 1-0 lead and take all the spoils. 

Valencia, losing their first game of the new season, might feel unlucky to have left without a point, especially when, with 20 minutes to go, Arriz Aduriz was harshly sent off for a stamp on Emir Spahic's foot (which, had it been administered to a dying ant would need to be followed up with another, more hearty effort to put the creature out of it's misery). Nonetheless, the Croat's melodramatic reaction fooled the ref, who, having already sent two Sevilla players off, probably felt pressured into evening things out.

But, the sending off aside, Valencia were really a shadow of the team that put itself ahead twice against Barcelona earlier in the week (that game finishing 2-2). This time round, and they displayed none of the sweeping, attack minded football, which caused Pep Guardiola's men such a headache on Wednesday. The first half was especially miserable from a Valencia perspective. From the kick off Sevilla were practically invited to test Guaita as much as possible. 
 
The 24 year old was on fine form, frustrating the Sevilla front line a number of times, but didn't stand a chance when, on 18 minutes, an innocuously headed ball from the home team's area found Mathieu (the Valencian left back) out of position, leaving a grateful Navas with acres of space on the right. The number 7 calmly found an on running Kanoute who, with outside of his right boot, took the ball past the Rami before rifling a shot into the roof of the net. 

The rest of the opening 45 minutes played out much like this, with a disjointed and uninspired Valencia having great difficulty stringing two passes together and having to absorb wave after wave of Sevilla pressure. The home side could easily have furthered their lead but wasteful passing and poor shooting ensured that the half time whistle was met with only a goal separating the sides.
 
The visitors started the second half in much brighter form, testing Varas from the get go, with Tino Costa and Jonas making the Sevilla number 13 work from early on. The travelling team was further boosted 10 minutes in by the daft, and deserved, sending off of the newly signed German international, Piotr Trochowski for a reckless challenge on Tino Costa from behind.


Against 10 men Valencia had chances to level the score. However, a determined Varas was equal to everything, producing a phenomenal save low to his left when a Jonas stuck his foot onto a dangerously deflected cross from 6 yards out.

Valencia’s odds of a comeback were enhanced considerably when the referee was forced to award them a penalty and send yet another Sevilla player for an early shower. This time it was a straight red for Escude after a desperate take down from behind on Aduriz, who was through on goal after Canales' excellent vision split the Sevilla defence apart. Banega took the ensuing spot kick but hit it too far right and agonisingly watched it bounce off the right hand post before being cleared away into safety.

Not long afterwards and Aduriz was caught up in the theatrical antics of Spahic and made leave the pitch by the ref.

Despite Aduriz's sending off Valencia still maintained a numerical advantage. Nonetheless, try as they might, they were unable to capitalise as Sevilla saw out the game defending deep and holding a tight back line. Even with Soldado coming on in the 70th minute, the home side was able to pasify and frustrate Valencia by not offering an openings or channels to play into.

However, Soldado could have snatched a point at the very end when a long, sweeping ball from Rami was knocked on by Canales and left to the number 7 to finish. Although the former Real Madrid and Getafe man didn't know much about the knock-on he was able to direct the ball towards the bottom right corner from close distance, only to see a cat-like Varas deny yet another, otherwise, sure-fire goal.

Valencia left the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium pointless. With the looming home tie against old boy, Juan Mata's Chelsea this Wednesday in the Champion's League, Emery's men will find little respite in their failure to convert chances today. It's clear that certain players are depended on more than others (highlighted today with both Soldado and Canales starting on the bench). A limited squad this season will mean that these players need to play games, at the risk of injury or burnout, which with such a congested fixture list is likely to happen eventually.

A new kid in town

Four games in and, so far at least, the usually assumed positions of first and second place are not occupied by either of their usually bankable inhabitants in southern Europe's so-called SPL, La Liga.

While the 2011/2012 campaign is still proverbially waking up and removing the crust from it's eyes after the summer hiatus, a collective turning of heads in the world of football has witnessed a start which has done away with the all too familiar script, wherein Barcelona and Real Madrid romp to the table summit and remain there until the season end. It's far to early to say whether this will happen or not again this year, nevertheless the ordinary order of things is being shaken up in Spanish football at the moment.

As of writing, Real Betis and Málaga make up the two front runners. Barcelona follow behind in the third position and Real Madrid, perplexingly, find themselves fifth, after stuttering tremendously in their last two games, dropping 5 points and providing the Spanish sports press with a mouth watering supply of reputable behaviour to mull over. In fairness, at this same stage last season neither of the two giants found themselves in the top spot, with Barcelona having to wait an unspeakable 13 games before making the position their home for the rest of the year.

That either Real or Barca wins the title in 2012 is not in question. Of course one of them will. Nonetheless, with the emergence of Málaga as a force to be reckoned with, boasting a squad that (excluding the two favourites) no other team comes close to matching (in terms of quality and depth) the prospect of a new powerhouse in Spain is all of a sudden a real possibility. Despite an unconvincing first game, losing to Sevilla 2-1, the Andaluz project seems to be really hitting exciting form, having won their last three. Obviously Abullah bin Nasser al Thani's seemingly bottomless treasure chest has been the deciding factor in the Rosalda outfit's vast improvement. However, some praise has to go towards Manuel Pellegrini, the man in charge of things on the pitch. Having used the summer transfer window to devastating effect and making some very astute signings (if not frugal ones) the Chilean could be on the cusp of something unheard of this year: breaking into the top two.

Needless to say, winning the league or coming second is not Malaga’s objective just yet. Both the owner and the management team are intelligent enough to know that money can't buy everything, at least not straight away. There's a long way to go and plenty of work to be done before thoughts of clearing room in the trophy cabinet spring to mind. Qualifying for Europe will be a massive achievement for a club of Malaga’s size and trajectory, but with players like Toulalan, Mathijsen, Baptista, Joaquin, Cazorla and Van Nistelrooy available it is an extremely attainable goal.

Of course there are other quality teams in La Liga outside the so-called "Two horse race" and newly rich Malaga. Valencia in particular has hit the ground running. Whether they are able to sustain a whole season challenging for the league remains to be seen, especially when taking their limited resources and distinct inability to hold onto star players into account (over the summer Juan Mata and Joaquin left for pastures greener).

With a master tactician like Unai Emery at the helm Valencia do have versatility, if not depth. This was seen on Wednesday when his side punished Pep Guardiola's decision to play a tight back three in the Mestalla, scoring two early goals. The game finished 2-2, only after the Barcelona coach was forced to change his whole game plan as a result of home team's attacking prowess.

However, despite having a quality manager, attack minded players like Canales, Pablo and Soldado, and a solid defensive pairing in Rami and Victor Ruiz, ultimately the pool of players to choose from is far too limited to really push the bigger/richer teams off their perch.

There is still no denying that Barcelona are the strongest team in the league, having built up their squad from last season, most notably with the acquisitions of Fabregas and Alexis. None of the old guard at the Camp Nou seems to have waned or lost it's hunger for titles either, on current evidence, so it will be a very difficult task to stop them continuing to write history this year.

Meanwhile in the Spanish capital, Jose Mourinho's side has failed to show any real consistency or cohesion since drubbing Real Zaragoza and Getafe in their first two matches. Undoubtedly Real Madrid is still a name that strikes fear into any manager presiding over a La Liga team. However, one can't help but think that last seasons repeated failures to beat Barcelona when it mattered (notwithstanding the Copa del Rey final) has left a psychological imprint on los blancos. Incidents like the Khedira/Di Maria debacle against Levante, along with rumblings in the Spanish media of discontent among the Spanish players in the team, added with Mourinho's declining credibility and increased paranoia, do not bode well for the Chamartin club.

Words like "crisis" and “disaster" have no place being banded around this early into the new season. All the same, unlike other years it seems now Madrid may have more than just Barcelona to contend with. The second automatic Champion's League spot is by no means a given, and Al Thani's experimental project could be the very club to rattle things up at the top of the league.

Who knows, maybe Pelligrini, the man ousted from the Madrid banquillo to make room for Mourinho, may exact his revenge on his former employers by leapfrogging them to second.