Valencia 1-1 Barcelona: 5 hits and flops as Catalans held to a frustrating draw by the Bats | La Liga 2023-24
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Valencia in La Liga on Saturday as Joao Felix's goal was canceled out by Hugo Guillamon.
Having lost their last two games in a row, including a stunning 4-2 home defeat to Girona, the Catalans were eager to return to winning ways. After getting close on a few occasions, Felix finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute with a simple tap-in as the visitors heaved a sigh of relief.
However, their celebrations were cut short when Guillamon equalized 15 minutes later. Fran Perez's cross wasn't cleared and Diego Lopez headed it for Guillamon, who tip-toed his way around Barcelona's defense before firing a shot into the top-right corner.
Girona and Real Madrid, who are six and four points ahead of Barcelona on the La Liga table, now have the chance to pull further clear as the reigning champions' grip on the title is loosening.
Here are five hits and flops from the match:
Hit: Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)
An indomitable force in midfield, Frenkie de Jong constantly breached Valencia's defensive setup with his incisive passes while also actively looking to regain possession.
He created Barcelona's goal with a lovely pass from over the top for Raphinha to then square it for Felix to tap home. De Jong completed 94% of his passes and six long balls.
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, he went into the books late on for dissent and earned himself a suspension from Barcelona's home game against Almeria on Wednesday.
Flop: Jules Kounde (Barcelona)
Valencia had several attacking moments in the game that had Barcelona on tenterhooks, and that's partly because of Jules Kounde. He was clearly unsettled by the frantic nature of the match and displayed poor positional awareness on a few occasions.
In the ninth minute, Roman Yaremchuk almost beat Kounde for pace on the attack but Inaki Pena came off his line to smother the chance. The Frenchman was bailed out there but did improve after the break.
Hit: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia)
If there's one big reason why Barcelona only managed to eke out a point despite having eight shots on target, it's Valencia's talismanic goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The Georgian custodian made six saves in the match, including three from Robert Lewandowski alone in the opening stanza. He had a 25-yard shot, an acrobatic volley and a low drive - all parried away by Mamardashvili, who had seemingly channeled his inner Iker Casillas on the night.
In the second half, Raphinha and Ferran Torres also had their attempts kept out by the 23-year-old goalkeeper.
Flop: Hugo Duro (Valencia)
There was no dearth of effort from Hugo Duro, but he sorely lacked the final touch. The Valencia striker failed to connect with a good-looking pass from Fran Perez in the 15th minute before heading a cross from Pepelu narrowly wide.
Duro got into some good positions but lacked the cutting edge to make it count. Nowhere was it more apparent than in the 77th minute, when he burst forward with purpose and created space on the edge of the box, only to fire his shot high and wide.
With a little more accuracy, Duro could become the real deal.
Hit: Pedri (Barcelona)
Dynamic Barcelona midfielder Pedri had another impressive outing. His passes were top-notch and helped build his side's attacking momentum. The Spaniard linked up brilliantly with Ilkay Gundogan and De Jong to break Valencia's deep block and create chances.
Pedri made two interceptions and five tackles, won six ground duels and completed 85% of his passes.