Yunus Musah and Jonathan Gomez both put in solid shifts for their teams in Spain, as Valencia and Real Sociedad B came away with victories.
Valencia 3 – 1 Granada
Yunus Musah returned to Valencia’s midfield on Saturday, holding down the fort as they were able to take all three points against Granada in La Liga action.
In his 73 minutes on the field, the 19 year-old American had 33 total touches, however was more involved in Valencia’s possession game, often serving as a nuisance to Granada’s attempts to move forward.
The hosts took the lead three minutes into the second half when Goncalo Guedes headed in a free kick from Carlos Soler, then made it 2-0 three minutes later after another fantastic Soler set-up from the right side was headed in by Maxi Gomez.
Granada’s pressure momentarily paid off when Valencia defender Hugo Guillamon accidentally redirected the ball into his own net in the 56th minute.
However Granada was outmatched, and saw their hosts clinch the victory after Soler made it 3-1 from the spot after Gomez was theatrically toppled by Granada’s Raúl Torrente.
The victory leaves Valencia in ninth place, still with a mountain to climb to reach the spots destined for European qualification. They will be back on the field on Saturday when they visit Getafe.
Real Sociedad B 2 – 1 Sporting Gijon
Jonathan Gomez continued his development under Spanish legend Xabi Alonso, starting for Real Sociedad B in their late win over Sporting Gijon on Monday night La Liga 2 action.
Gomez was an active participant in his team’s forward push during his 86 minutes on the field, completing 22 of his 30 passes from the left back position, attempting one shot on the Gijon goal and winning most of his duels on the defensive end against opposing attackers.
Alonso’s squad was first on the board shortly before the halftime whistle, with Jon Karrikaburu striking low from the left side of the area in the 44th minute.
Uros Djurdjevic pulled the visitors even after 61 minutes, sliding forward to redirect a cross from José Luis Rodriguez over the line at the far post.
However, Karrikaburu snatched the 2-1 victory for the hosts in the final minutes of added time, nailing his attempt from the spot after Eric Ramirez errantly deflected a cross with his upper arm.
With little other tha pride to play for, Alonso’s squad is currently 19th place in La Liga 2 standings, with a four-point gap to the spots above the drop zone.
The team will try to extend their three-game winning streak when they visit Burgos on Sunday.
Notes
Sergiño Dest returned to Barcelona’s bench following the end of Jordi Alba’s suspension, and played the final five minutes in place of Dani Alves in the team’s last-gasp 2-1 road win over Elche on Sunday. Dest should be in the Blaugrana starting lineup on Thursday when they host Galatasaray in the Europa League.
Matt Miazga was stuck on the Alaves bench for their impressive scoreless draw at home against second-place Sevilla.
Matthew Hoppe didn’t make it off Mallorca’s bench on Sunday during their wild 4-3 loss at Celta Vigo.
Shaq Moore didn’t make it off of Tenerife’s bench on Saturday for their 4-1 home humiliation at the hands of Real Valladolid. Samuel Shashoua played the final 20 minutesbut was unable to help his team overcome the deficit.
