A solitary goal from rookie Cyle Larin in the final stretch of the game gave Valladolid its first victory in two months and allowed Pacheta's men to catch a bit of air in the standings. Quite the opposite that happens in Valencia, which does not detach itself from danger and whose defeat leaves Gattuso on the tightrope.
The Italian coach did not want to go into depth to comment on his future, reiterating that he has not spoken to Peter Lim, owner of the Valencian entity, for a long time. "It is normal that I fear for my position and I will have to respect what the club decides," he declared about Zorrilla's green, still hot, before the Dazn cameras. "My priority now is to find how to improve the team because we are in a very negative moment," he added.
Already at a press conference, Gattuso spoke again about the delicate situation he is going through as coach of Valencia. "It is clear that I am responsible for this. It is true that the team now does not play calmly, and work continues so that the chances end in goals and turn the situation around. And if someone arrives or not, it does not depend from me, because I don't control the club's money", he recalled.
Already narrating what happened on the pitch, the Ché team came out with a clear offensive vocation, and it didn't take long for them to start besieging the local area, especially from set pieces. In fact, in the first eight minutes, they had already taken advantage of four corner kicks, two of which created danger.
Cavani was about to surprise Masip with a shot to the base of the post, although the Catalan goalkeeper showed his concentration and prevented the goal. And in another corner, Mosquera was able to head solo, although his shot did not find the goal.
The people from Valladolid were too fearful, without the ability to have the ball, to face the rival goal, to create chances, and that Machís had started as a starter to look for a boost in that attacking aspect, and he starred in the few arrivals of Real Valladolid to the visiting area.
Valencia had much clearer ideas, and was more comfortable on the pitch, against a local team with little initiative, and which was beginning to unsettle the fans due to the lack of drive from the players.
The game crisis at the locals was evident, because he was unable to control the ball, making inaccuracies in the passes, and lost when Valencia had the ball, due to the low defensive intensity. Musah took advantage of this local inaction to overflow on the wing and dangerously reach the blanquivioleta area.
The lack of success of Gattuso's men, and the actions of Masip prevented the Ché team from reaching the break with an advantage on the scoreboard, although they deserved it, since they searched hard for it. Meanwhile, for Valladolid, the point was a real gift.
After the restart, Pacheta's men got their act together, and changed their attitude to show more offensive bite, which resulted in several arrivals, with Machís and the Ecuadorian Gonzalo Plata -just jumping onto the pitch-, who were able to inaugurate the scoring, if it weren't for Mamardashvili preventing it, with two good interventions.
Plata was beginning to become a nightmare for the Valencians, who were beginning to recoil from the local push, and in minute 68 they tried to score again, with a shot that the visiting goalkeeper rejected and that Sergio León could not connect after the clearance.
The local coach wanted more, and also made Larin debut, replacing Sergio León, to give another twist to his team's attack. But the greater dominance did not translate into goals, not even Óscar Plano, from point blank range, managed to get the ball into the net. His shot went up, on the clearest occasion of the match.
The victory that Valencia deserved in the first half was deserved by Real Valladolid in the second, since Gattuso's men barely managed to reach the local area. Kluivert did it in minute 87, but his shot hit Javi Sánchez's back.
On the next play, Machís placed a cross that Larin finished off spectacularly, when it seemed that the ball was going to leave, to open the scoring practically with regulation time up, which would give victory to his new team.
1- Real Valladolid: Masip; Lucas Rosa (Luis Pérez, m.46), Joaquín, Javi Sánchez, Olaza (David Torres, m.81); Kike Pérez, Roque Mesa (Monchu, m.75), Aguado (Silver, m.59); Plano, Sergio León (Larin, m.75), Machís.
0- Valencia CF: Mamardashvili; Christian, Cömert, Cenk, Gaia (Foulquier, m.81); Musah, Almeida, Lato (Ilaix Moriba, m.70); Castillejo (Jesus Vazquez, m.75), Cavani (Marcos Andrew, m.81), Lino (Kluivert, m.81).
Goles: 1-0, art.89: Larin.
Referee: Jorge Figueroa Vázquez (Andalusian Committee). He showed yellow cards to Javi Sánchez (m.45), Aguado (m.56), Roque Mesa (m.68), from Real Valladolid and Almeida (m.12), from Valencia.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the nineteenth day of LaLiga Santander, played at the José Zorrilla stadium in front of 19,675 spectators.
