Opinion: Dissecting the drama at Mestalla

I wrote about Real Madrid’s dramatic win over Valencia in the Mestalla this weekend, but I didn’t spend much time on larger themes in my report as I would have liked. A few days removed, I’d like to bring up a few of those up that I found especially intriguing about the match.

The handball?

Firstly, I’m compelled to address the handball/not-handball by Gonzalo Higuaín (I’d incorrectly written in my report that it was Marcelo, then Mesut Özil). My personal opinion was that it had appeared to be a handball, clearly to the Valencia players and in two of three replays I saw-the other made it seem like it was pretty clearly not a handball. If anything my opinion hasn’t exactly changed in the past few days as much as I am now less convinced of it, even though I was never entirely convinced that it was a handball-only that it looked that way. I am convinced, however, of this: there isn’t a right answer today, unless you are a supporter of one side, in which case your allegiance will speak for itself. Whatever evidence is available now, conclusive or not, it’s not the sort of evidence available within the game itself, and so is largely a moot point: it was one of those moments in football when everything seemed to depend on a moment that could not itself be depended upon. I say “seemed” because a penalty could have been called and missed by Valencia, and so it may have been a moot point anyway. But in the long view I think the final play should serve more as a reminder of just how tense, and close, the match was throughout, rather than whether it confirms or denies any of the many themes running through the first ninety-three minutes of play.

Unai Emery’s selection

The first theme I want to highlight is Unai Emery’s decision not to start Jonas and Pablo Hernández, opting instead to start Dani Parejo and Sofiane Feghouli. This, for me, was the most curious tactical decision Emery made, and one that I think worked badly for Valencia. I agree with Michael Cox’s observation that Valencia played better when once Jonas and Pablo came on. I don’t know whether Jonas, who has been out recently, was not fit enough for a full game, or if Emery had seen something in Parejo recently to inspire him to start the young Spanish forward over the Brazilian one (Jonas). Emery chose from the beginning to attack Madrid, a brave and thoughtful choice, but leaving out Pablo and Jonas left Roberto Soldado – who is at his best as a goal poacher – on an island for the first hour of the match. Why Emery would chose to press forward, but not put those two in to bridge the gap between the middle and final thirds of the pitch, especially after seeing how aggressive José Mourinho would play his midfield, baffles me. Jordi Alba and Jérémy Mathieu both did well to contain Özil, who was the far right forward, and Adil Rami did remarkably well containing Cristiano Ronaldo (his goal aside). Their ‘collective individual’ defending gave the home side a unique opportunity to take a few liberties in the midfield, but Valencia just couldn’t do it with Parejo and Feghouli. That it took over an hour for Emery to make the change was unfortunate for Valencia’s chances.

Real Madrid’s malaise

The second theme I want to highlight is just how disorganized Madrid seemed for longish stretches in the second half. Madrid rarely looks disorganized, or out of control, and Ronaldo’s goal covered up just how unsettled they looked after Soldado’s first goal, but Valencia made them look beatable at times, which is surprising. Emery had mentioned (there is a link in the match preview) that Madrid can be “mortal”, adding that the way to do it is through collective team effort, since Madrid are individually so talented it can be nearly impossible to match up with them. But in the match Valencia seemed, at times, to do just that: Valencia’s back line, particularly the aforementioned Rami, matched up well individually with Madrid’s front line and Soldado scored twice by beating his man to the spot. Mathieu often made quick work of Pepe and Álvaro Arbeloa, and seemed only held back by the simple fact that none of his forwards could keep pace with his crosses. In other words, Valencia played well in one-on-one situations, and attacked Madrid straight up, which seemed to take Madrid out of the match.

Conclusion

It may sound naive to stress how vulnerable Madrid seemed after they just won their eighth straight league match, and sit squarely atop La Liga, but Madrid were very, very close to a draw in a match they had expected to win convincingly. I imagine that a large part of the furore over the handball/not-handball is the fact that Madrid did not dominate as they had expected to, and Valencia may have wasted a chance they didn’t know they had.

Maxwell Kuhl can be followed on Twitter here.

Tags: Emery, La Liga, Mestalla, Mourinho, Real Madrid, Ronaldo, Soldado, Valencia