Yunus Musah was the only American to see action in Spain’s top flight this weekend in Valencia’s narrow road win, while Jonathan Gomez earned another start in Real Sociedad B’s home loss.
FC Elche 0 – 1 FC Valencia
USMNT starter Yunus Musah was on the field for Valencia from the starting whistle, occupying the left side a three-man midfield as they earned all three points at Elche.
The American lacked any major influence on the game during his 72 minutes on the field, however put in a decent performance, completing close to 90% of his 17 attempted passes, while connecting well with both of his long-ball attempts.
Valencia looked to have taken the lead already in the seventh minute when Hugo Guillamon struck from close range following a free kick, however a VAR review ruled the goal out for offside on the build-up.
The visitors kept their foot on the gas, and did eventually score the opener, and eventual winner, in the 50th minute. This time, Goncalo Guedes was the hero, even if a slighty fortunate one, running onto a pass from Carlos Soler in the right side of the area, and eventually seeing the ball roll over the line after getting caught up in a tangle with Johan Mojica and keeper Edgar Badia.
Enzo Roco looked to have equalized from close range following a free kick, however the goal was correctly called back as several Elche players were offside as the kick was taken.
Valencia eventually held on for the win, with Elche defender Mojica putting an appropriate cap on the game when he lashed out at an opposing player deep into injury time, and was shown a straight-red for his efforts.
The three points do little to help Valencia’s position in the standings; they are still in ninth place and more importantly eight points out of the European qualification spots with nine games left. They will be back in action with a favorable home matchup against Cadiz after the international break.
Real Sociedad B 1 – 3 CD Mirandes
Jonathan Gomez once against got the start for Real Sociedad B on Saturday against visiting Mirandes, putting in a 75-minute shift in their 3-1 loss.
The 18 year-old left back had 48 total touches in his 75 minutes, completing 19 of 26 attempted passes, before being pulled in favor of Cristo Romero in the final phase of the game.
Jon Karrikaburu put the hosts on the board in the 23rd minute, connecting from the spot after VAR showed the ball taking a convenient deflection off of a Mirandes player’s arm.
However, the visitors owned the second half, quickly turning the tables and securing a rather lopsided victory in the final 45 minutes.
Roger Brugué pulled his team even in the 50th minute, heading in a corner from Martin Calderon, then Rodrigo Riquelme finished a storming run between several defenders in the 78th minute with a low poke from the right side of the area to the lower far corner.
Victor Meseguer then added the cherry on top with eight minutes left, taking flight at the near post to head in a corner from Imanol Garcia de Albeniz for the final 3-1 scoreline.
The result snaps the team’s four-game unbeaten run in La Liga 2, and leaves the six points deep within the relegation places. They play through the international break, with their next outing on Sunday at UD Ibiza.
Notes
Sergiño Dest injured his hamstring last week, and was not in uniform for Barcelona’s impressive 4-0 dismantling of Real Madrid in the latest edition of El Clasico.
Matt Miazga didn’t make it off of the Alaves bench on Saturday for their 3-2 home loss against visiting Granada. With nine games left, Alaves are five points below the surface, and are looking likely to spend next season in Spain’s second tier.
Matthew Hoppe was in uniform, but didn’t see any action in Mallorca’s 1-0 road loss at Espanyol. The result drops them into the relegation zone, where they will likely face a dogfight with several other teams to avoid joining Levante and Alaves in La Liga 2 next season.
Shaq Moore and Samuel Shashoua will be available for Tenerife when they host UD Almeria in Monday-night La Liga 2 action.
