Celtic warned: Revitalised Valencia will be testing opponents for Hoops in Europa League
In less than two weeks Celtic will visit Valencia in a huge Europa League round of 32 clash, and the good news for the Scottish champions is that their opponents have a demanding domestic fixture list that will ask much of them before they even come up against the Hoops.The bad news, however, is that the LaLiga side have just hit their finest form of the season, and are functioning far better than they were when the draw was made.Getting the better of a team from a much bigger league with a far bigger budget was never going to be easy for Celtic, but developments since the tie was announced in mid December have not favoured the Scots.Brendan Rodgers’ side visit Los Che later this month before welcoming the LaLiga side to Celtic Park3
Brendan Rodgers’ side visit Los Che later this month before welcoming the LaLiga side to Celtic Park
Back then, Valencia were 15th in the table and teetering above the relegation zone. Star striker Rodrigo had only scored two goals all season never in back to back games and some were beginning to question coach Marcelino.Now, Los Che are only a hairs breadth off a Europa League spot, and progressing to the semi-finals of Copa del Rey has given them a huge morale boost.Rodrigo, meanwhile, has now chalked up seven goals. That includes hitting five in the 10 days between their LaLiga game with Celta, Copa quarter-final against Getafe (where he was the hero with a hat-trick) and league derby win over Villarreal.As for coach Marcelino, with the players rallying behind him and results turning, his position has now been significantly reinforced; his insistence all season that the team only needed a slice of fortune to go their way apparently proving to be accurate.A string of positive results have eased the pressure Marcelino was under3
A string of positive results have eased the pressure Marcelino was under
The culmination of the turnaround came on Saturday at Camp Nou, where Valencia produced one of their best performances of 2018/19 and became the first team to take a point from Barcelona since November.This team is growing, their coach glowed in the post-match, arguing that the struggles of previous months had simply served to increase our self-esteem and ambition.There was plenty of that self-esteem on show in Catalonia.Not many teams go two goals ahead on Barcelonas turf with half an hour on the clock, but this was Valencia in vintage mode. All of the hallmarks of them at their best under Marcelino were back on show; a style based on effective, aggressive pressing in the final third followed by breaking with accuracy and in numbers. For a time it overwhelmed Bara, with Daniel Wass regularly finding Dani Parejos late runs into the area with a well rehearsed cutback that is difficult to defend against.The two strikers, Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo, showed their understanding has developed significantly since the turn of the year. The most obvious example came in the Frenchmans goal, where Rodrigo, after driving forward to cut through Barcelonas midfield, weighted an excellent pass into the area that Gameiro could hit first time to give Marc-Andre Ter Stegen no chance.The movements are ones Marcelino has drilled his team on since day one, but with confidence, the finishing touch is now being applied, unlike earlier in the campaign.At the heart of it all was captain Parejo, who quite literally produced a perfect first half; all of his passes were completed (not a simple task considering the way Barcelona press), all of his tackles and duels were won, and all of his shots hit the target, including an excellently struck penalty that doubled Los Ches lead.Dani Parejo fired Valencia two goals ahead, but his side could not hold out for the win3
Dani Parejo fired Valencia two goals ahead, but his side could not hold out for the win
It was a display in keeping with the strong displays he has been producing week after week this winter.Celtic will surely have to focus much of their attention on containing the playmaker, who has a nose for sniffing out space in and around the area.It wasnt all perfect though, as Barcelonas recovery to draw the game proved.While Valencia have shaken off many of their issues from before, they still lack the cool head to see things out from a favourable position. In the second period Rodrigo squandered a golden opportunity to make the score 3-1, and within seconds Barcelona had equalised at the other end through Lionel Messi.The brilliance of the Argentinians disguised shot was almost impossible to defend, but the build-up wasnt, and the mistakes the visitors made showed they still have a habit of lapses in concentration that give opponents a fighting chance.That said, holding on to a valuable point from a game where they would surely have let all three slip not long ago reflects upon a renewed mental strength in Valencia that should not be underestimated.After conceding the equaliser they spent large periods under intense pressure, but the generosity in the defensive cover that players like Ezequiel Garay produced made a huge difference, and gradually helped them to grow in confidence.Rodrigo, covering huge stretches of the final third even after running for more than an hour, was another example of how Valencia have the hunger of a small team to match the talent levels of a squad that was built to compete at Champions League level.Los Che ultimately left Camp Nou feeling further vindicated that they have finally turned a corner, and while the accumulation of fixtures in the coming 10 days could yet take its toll, the feel-good factor now surging around the Mestalla following months of doom and gloom will have a huge impact.The harsh reality is that Celtic will likely need to produce the perfect game twice if they are going to upset the odds at the LaLiga sides expense.
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