Bordalás is only 3 points behind Marcelino’s last Valencia

Bordalás’ Valencia has added 10 of the last 12 points and thanks to that he got hooked on the fight for seventh place in the league, that due to its status as a Cup finalist and the presence of Betis above that position in the classification, it would ensure a place in European competition. Valencia adds 40 points, one behind Athletic Bilbao and five behind Villarreal, who occupies that seventh position. The curious thing about the matter, proof that each season is a world, is that the black and white team adds only three points less than Marcelino’s last Valencia, a team that finished the course proclaiming itself Cup champion in Seville and achieving a place in the Champions League (in addition to being a semi-finalist in the Europa League).

Arrived at day 29, Marcelino’s Valencia had 43 points and Bordalás’ 40. So far the parallels, because the context and the sensations of how that figure had been reached are different. Valencia in 2019 was sixth classified with the same points as Sevilla, which was seventh, and was only one from fifth (Alavés, 44) and two from fourth (precisely Getafe de Bordalás, 46). So far he had arrived thanks to 9 victories, a whopping 16 draws and only four defeats, with 31 goals for and 23 against. Bordalás’ team, however, has been characterized by adding points in bursts, with streaks of seven days without winning and as many without losing. A) Yes, adds 10 wins, 10 draws and 9 losses; with 42 goals in favor (11 more than with Marcelino) and, his true Achilles’ heel, 43 against (20 more than three years ago).

Valencia, since the 1-4 defeat against Barcelona in Mestalla, has been what was statistically expected that it was with Bordalás, keeping a clean sheet in four of the last five games, including the second leg of the Cup semifinal against Athletic. That turning off the tap has allowed him to dream of the La Cartuja final and regain faith in his league aspirations. Marcelino’s Valencia added 18 of the last 27 points and with 61 points managed to get fourth. This year the Champions League is going to be much more expensive than then (Atlético, which is fourth, already has 54 points in the absence of 27), although the dressing room that does see itself with options, beyond the Cup final , fight until the end to return to Europe.

The Copa del Rey, as in 2019, in the year of the Centenary, has served as a stimulus for the black and white players so as not to lower their arms in the League or get carried away after the streak of seven days without winning that they chained from December to February. Precisely after the defeat against Barcelona, ​​Bordalás was seen sunk in the press room, where he left a reflection that he did not like in the locker room: “It doesn’t give us”. After that meeting, the players met alone in the locker room and the slogan was not to throw in the towel. Five games later Valencia is Cup finalist and think of a calendar that will face Cádiz, Osasuna, Levante, Betis and Celta in Mestalla; Rayo, Villarreal, Athletic and Espanyol at home. 15 of 27 added against them in the first round and the way this League is going, 55 points seem few to get into Europe.