Cervera surprised everyone with his alignment against Valladolid, in which he made up to eight changes with respect to the team that faced Real Madrid. Of these, one was an open secret: Iván Alejo. Salvi's penalty for accumulating yellows opened a gap in the eleven for Valladolid, who again, did not miss his opportunity. The winger's game was impeccable, proving once again that whenever Cervera pulls him, the yellow coach can be sure of his commitment.
It is not unreasonable to say that Alejo was the best player of the match. The Valladolid player understood the meeting perfectly and he hit his band over and over again, rushing the baseline and putting balls into the area looking for the strikers. In the 88 minutes he had on the field, he focused eleven balls into the area. He faced 17 times, had a 87% pass success and received two fouls. Even though his match was complete, his contribution greatly improved in the second half as a result of the entry of Iza, with which he found support on the right; and he even helped in defense both the side of Puerto de Santa María, in the second half, and Akapo, in the first, every time Sergio's men started the attack on their wing.
Alejo's heat map against Valladolid.
SofaScore
The game was special for Alejo because it meant his return home, his land and the team in which he began to take his first steps as a footballer. With the match against Valladolid, Alejo already has three league games as a starter (Curiously, the last one was the duel of the first round against the Castilian-Leonese), and already links six consecutive meetings enjoying minutes. Alejo's performance only lacked the icing, in the form of an assist or a goal; but with performances like yesterday, Cervera will surely continue to use it in future matches.