Valencia for top 3

   Sunday was a great day for most, if not all, Valencia supporters. Los Che drew against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. The score was 2-2, but could have gone either way even up towards the added stoppage time minutes where both teams had clear opportunities to win the match. The draw isn't the biggest positive surprise-Valencia is actually the team that has taken most points from Real Madrid of any other team in La Liga- it was in the manner and style that the draw was earned that has given Valencia a sense of rebirth. Valencia is a team that throughout most of its history has been a successful team, for a while they were consecutive winners of the "other" league. Which is finishing in 3rd place behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, the last two seasons for los che has been horrendous for the club. It will be part of their history that will not be remembered fondly of, but it happened and it is there. Fans know it, the team knows it and anyone who closely monitors La Liga knows it. Sunday saw a team that was organized, ambitious, and courageous. There are plenty of positives to be taken from the match. But, lets begin with a few obvious factors. First, Real Madrid where without Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo. Second, Karim Benzema had an awful day, missing eight clear opportunities to score. Third, Bale was no where to be found, could it be his speed has really diminished that much as he ages? The conclusive point here is that Real Madrid didn't necessarily executed their game plan in the manner they normally do due to a few set backs and their star players performing their vanishing acts.

  That being said, there were plenty of positives for Valencia on the day. The first goal for los che was straight from the academy products. Gaya to Lato to Soler was the brilliant combination that lead to the goal to tie the match at 1-1. The team looked well organized and attacked on the counter. Kondogbia had an excellent debut locking down the midfield forcing Modric to play throught the outside to create chances for Madrid. Kondogbia scored the second goal to put Valencia in the lead at 2-1. Ruben Vezo and Murillo looked solid in the back line as they debuted as the center back pair for the team. The two goals against Valencia, the first one was a bad pass to Kondogbia which allowed Asensio to scoop it up and work his magic with his left foot and the second goal was from a freekick. This is not to take anything away from Real Madrid, they did have more clear opportunities in front of goal to have easily put los che away. But, all that means from a Valencia perspective is that the team remained organized and stayed on their marks to make it as difficult as possible for the home team to score. That is something that was missing from the Valencia side the past two seasons. Now under Marcelino Toral Garcia Valencia really looks competitive. It is still early in the season, only two games have been played, but from what I have seen from this Valencia side has given me hope to be excited for this team going forward.