The first international break of the new season looked like it could be a timely hiatus for Valencia, as it gave the club time to prepare for their next La Liga game away to FC Barcelona. Fate also seemed to be playing into Valencia’s hands with the match getting played in the 6,000 capacity Johan Cruyff stadium due to the unavailability of the Nou Camp and Montjuïc, and many Barcelona players coming off long and tiring international journeys with their respective countries.

Then news that an existing groin strain for Lamine Yamal was exaggerated in Spain’s World Cup qualifier in Sofia against Bulgaria, deeming him unfit for the Valencia contest. With very few of the Los Che squad on international duty, this looked like an ideal time to face the current La Liga champions on away soil.

Unfortunately, Barcelona had other ideas and ran out 6-0 winners, highlighting once again the gulf between the two sides, and how far Valencia had to go before competing once again against the top teams in Spain.

Even more worryingly, it underlined once again the failings of Valencia away from the Mestallla. Two more away trips to Catalunya came next with Espanyol and Girona as the opponents.

Espanyol have started well and looked the tougher of the two games, but Valencia got their sole point from their four league games on the road to date at Cornella/El Prat Stadium. It could have been so much better if the concentration levels had held and the team had not conceded an injury time equaliser.

Girona have suffered an horrendous start to the season, and the timing of this fixture also gave Valencia “socios” strong hopes of bagging their first away win since their unexpected victory against Real Madrid in La Liga last April.

Once again, Valencia’s shortcomings were exposed as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against one of the poorer teams in the division. It was the Catalan’s first victory of the season and left the Valencia coach Carlos Corberán scratching for answers regarding the club’s wretched away form.

Bright starts in most games are tempered with lapses of concentration in the latter stages of each half, and an overly defensive mind set, especially when point(s) are only a breathing distance away

These were similar failings in the Baraja era, and failure to rectify these issues will result with Valencia flirting with relegation once again this season.

With one point from a possible twelve it puts even more pressure on securing three points when entertaining other clubs. The slip up against Oviedo in the home game sandwiched between the Espanyol and Girona contests mirrored that of a typical away game.

A bright start followed by an increasingly defensive strategy as the team looked to hold onto what they had. That approach once again proved costly as two late goals in the final five minutes gave the Asturian side all three points.

Levante UD showed the way to Valencia when in this aspect of the game they dismantled Oviedo in the Estadio Carlos Tartiere in their last match before the international series of games.

Going a goal to the good on the half hour mark through the ever improving Carlos Álvarez, Levante UD continued to probe for further success, (rather than sitting on what they had) and they were rewarded for their positive initiative when Etta Eyong added a second in the third quarter of the game.

With a two goal cushion, Levante saw out the match with relative ease to record their second away victory (the other win was against Girona). In Etta Eyong they have arguably secured one of the best transfer deals of the season. With four goals in five games, he is the kind of centre forward (for Levante UD) that Valencia have been searching for… without any joy in the last few league campaigns.

With Ivan Romero and Carlos Álvarez also providing goals and the former Valencia favourite Mathew Ryan upscaling the goalkeeping position, the humble club find themselves above Valencia on goal difference at this moment in time.

Meanwhile, Levante women are having a tough time to date in the top flight and in their six games so far they have only accrued one point. A poor loss at home to Eibar recently compounded their position at the bottom of league and forthcoming fixtures against Sevilla in Buñol, and Real Madrid in the Spanish capital look tough encounters on paper.

A division below Levante, Valencia women have made an acceptable start to their campaign. They stand fifth in the table currently, but have also advanced in the ‘Copa de  la Reina’ after a strong victory over Villarreal away from home in the last round. The third round of the event will take place between the 4th and 6th of November, with Valencia’s opponents still to be determined at the time of writing.

Finally, Valencia welcomes a new sports stadium to the city. The spectacular Roig Arena will be the home of Valencia basketball with a capacity of around 15,000 people. It will be also used for concerts with another 5,000 seats available, and forthcoming acts already confirmed include The Psychedelic Furs later this year (2025) and Rod Stewart in 2026.

The stadium was officially opened on September 6th with a tribute to the Valencian pop singer Nino Bravo, who tragically died in a car crash at the height of his career in 1973 at the age of 28.

The other “new” sports stadium in Valencia, the Nou Mestalla remains a vision at the moment but the club announced a further injection of 330 million Euros recently. The project that has been plighted with financial problems, licensing issues and in fighting with the local government was initially earmarked for the 2011 Champions League Final.

The new completion date is now scheduled for 2027, with 10% of the 70,000 seated stadium designated for hospitality packages.

Report by John Howden

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’

FIXTURES VALENCIA CF

Alavés v Valencia CF 20 October 21.00h

Valencia CF v Villarreal 25 October 21.00h

Real Madrid v Valencia CF 1 November 21.00h

FIXTURES LEVANTE UD

Levante UD v Rayo Vallecano 19 October 18.30h

R C D Mallorca v Levante UD 26 October 14.00h

Levante UD v Celta Vigo 2 November 14.00h