Hugo Duro, with an exquisite Vaseline, and Giorgi Mamardashvili, with meritorious saves, upset Getafe this Saturday at Mestalla, who ended up losing in an even match against a Valencia that won again more than a month later and held on to the fight for Europe.
José Bordalás returned to Mestalla this Saturday for the first time with the aim of “certifying permanence” and the possibility of overtaking his rival in the table, but without his two top scorers, Borja Mayoral and Mason Greenwood. Meanwhile, Valencia wanted to win again after more than a month without tasting victory to dedicate it to Mouctar Diakhaby.
Under the rain and with the sound of the mascletà in the background, the match between Rubén Baraja's team and José Bordalás began with the first arrival of the locals after three minutes. Foulquier, ready to repeat his great performance of the day for Real Madrid, crossed into the area, but the Azulona defense repelled the shot.
Getafe, tough in marking the Valencians, was also able to reach Mamardashvili's area early. The rain, smoke and smell of gunpowder made the game difficult at Mestalla and, although it seemed that Valencia started dominating with a header from Cenk that crashed into Maksimovic and a shot from Canós that went high, Getafe knew how to snatch the ball away.
At eighteen minutes the Madrid team's first shot on goal came. Juan Iglesias tried his luck from a distance, but he slipped and Mamardashvili was able to stop the ball without problems. Valencia knew how to get rid of the pressure from their former coach's team and recovered the ball again with Canós trying and trying.
Very incisive in the area and attentive in the second plays, the Nules footballer sent the ball over the crossbar twice and ran into Djené on another until Hugo Duro arrived to shake up a duel that had fallen into a slump.
Five minutes before the break, the forward punished his former team with a delicate Vaseline that Alderete tried to avoid, but the former Valencia player couldn't and saw from the front row how the ball entered David Soria's net.
Hugo Duro not only celebrated the goal with his teammates, but he also remembered Diakhaby and celebrated the 1-0 with the center-back's shirt. Getafe only had the option of pressing in the final stages in which Cenk became big. The center-back rejected the Madrid team's attempts to the area, which returned strongly after passing through the locker room.
The game resumed with a great chance from Mata that Mamardashvili took under the sticks and the black and white defense rejected in the area. Immediately, Javi Guerra responded with a cross that Soria caught and then it was Pepelu who tried his luck, but his shot went wide.
Now it was Getafe that sought to beat Valencia in search of a tie and began to lay siege to the black and white area. Despite the insistence, Mamardashvili remained firm in the set-piece actions. And the game stopped again.
Diego López looked for the calming goal, but could not score the 2-0 and, as he did in the first half, Getafe pressed again in the final minutes in which Mamardashvili became the other hero of the afternoon along to Hugo Duro, as he maintained the result with two key stops at the end of the game.
1 – Valencia: Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Mosquera, Cenk, Gayà; Fran Pérez (Peter Federico, m.59), Pepelu, Guerra (Thierry, m.84), Canós (Diego López, m.59); Yaremchuk (Guillamón, m.71) and Hugo Duro (Amallah, m.84)
0 – Getafe: Soria; Djené, Alderete (Rico, d.71), Gastón; Iglesias (Yellu, m.84), Ilaix Moriba (Jordi Martín, m.62), Milla, Aleñá (Carmona, m.61); Maksimovic (Óscar, d.84), Jaime Mata and Latasa.
Goals: 1-0, m.40: Hugo Duro
Referee: Pulido Santana (Canarian Committee). He admonished Pepelu and Guillamón from the locals and Ilaix Moriba, Carmona and Djené from the visitors.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twenty-eighth matchday played at the Mestalla Stadium before 37,961 spectators. Before the match, the Valencia Women's player, Fiamma Benítez, offered the public the medal as the recent Nations League champion achieved with the Spanish team. The players of both teams came out with a t-shirt with the motto “Cheer up Diakhaby.” A minute of silence was held in memory of Francisco Olmos Marí, a Valencia subscriber since 1972.
