Talking points from Matchday 28
A dramatic and tense weekend in LaLiga threw up plenty of fascinating stories. From Real Madrid’s first defeat at home this season to Valencia’s alarming form, here are three of them.
Baena-Valverde altercation
Saturday evening under the lights at Santiago Bernabéu produced another sensational partidazo in which Villarreal came from behind twice to win 3-2 against the reigning Spanish and European champions. Samu Chukwueze continued his superb form and was the difference maker, as Quique Setién continued his impressive record at this ground.
One of the games of the season without a doubt, it was overshadowed however by events off the field, which emerged in reports late on Saturday night. The breaking news was that Fede Valverde had allegedly punched Álex Baena while the Villarreal player was waiting to leave the stadium in the team bus, with police aware of the incident. A confrontation that came to a head stemmed from the Copa del Rey tie between the sides back in January. Sources from Valverde’s entorno claim that Baena made hateful comments about the condition of the Uruguayan’s unborn baby. Baena refuted these allegations on social media.
On Sunday night Villarreal issued an official communication informing that Baena had filed a complaint to the police, denouncing Valverde for the aggression. Clearly this story has plenty to run but it was an ugly window into the toxification of football, fuelled by social media. Without any audiovisual evidence, it is difficult to come to any conclusions. Therefore, it will be one man’s word against another. Yet fans of both clubs leapt to the defence of their player before any responses had been issued. The premise of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is lost in the sea of trial by Twitter.
Will Valencia actually go down?
Valencia suffered another damaging defeat on Sunday, this time away at Almería, a direct rival in the battle for survival. They fell to a 2-1 defeat and lost Justin Kluivert to injury to rub salt into their wounds. Rubén Baraja expressed his disgust with the performance after the game. His appointment has not stemmed the bleeding for Los Che on the road: they have now lost eight consecutive matches away from Mestalla, their worst run for 40 years. They are currently in the drop zone, two points from safety, but Cádiz, Sevilla, Real Valladolid and of course Almería all made up ground on them this weekend. Next up is Sevilla, Elche, Real Valladolid and Cádiz, all humongous six-pointers.
If Valencia are to survive, they will either need to dramatically rectify their away form, or ensure that Mestalla makes the difference for them. They still have to welcome Sevilla, Villarreal and Real Madrid before the campaign closes. The problems with the management of the club have been discussed plentifully this season, but the current situation seems as perilous as it has ever been. A Valencian relegation is more than a possibility.
Betis seeing red again
At the other end of the table, the quest for Champions League football is also hotting up intensely. La Real earned a vital win on Saturday before Villarreal’s magnificent win in Madrid. Betis had to respond and faced a Cádiz side who were the lowest scorers away from home coming into this (7). Cue the almost inevitable Betis self-implosion. Sergio Canales was harshly sent off in the first half, deemed to be the last man making a challenge without attempting to play the ball. He took responsibility with a message on social media on Sunday evening. Ironically enough, he was only able to play in this match after Betis successfully got a provisional suspension on his heavily-discussed four-match sanction. That original red card also came against Cádiz, adding to the peculiarity.
Into the second half and things went from bad to worse for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. Conceding from a penalty, then a second goal before Aitor Ruibal lost his head and was sent off himself, reducing Betis to nine men. Los Verdiblancos have suffered 12 red cards this season, more than any other side in Europe’s top five leagues. The feeling with Betis is that the Pellegrini project is progressing, but in tiny steps forward punctuated with larger setbacks. If they are to fulfil the objective of reaching the top four, they will have to solve these issues, which are more mental than technical or tactical.