REAL SOCIEDAD 0-VALENCIA 0 | With anger and without leadership

Distribution of points between Real Sociedad and Valencia in a rough and dirty game, from which the visiting team got the best cut, because their plan worked perfectly. He came to San Sebastián to get rid of the Real players, who got tangled up in that game at the end of the Valencian team and allowed the referee, who upset everyone with his criteria, letting play a lot in the first half, and taking yellows left and right after the break. Valencia remained in their line, but Real left the game a little, caught that style of football, and lost a bit of the north, because they stopped doing everything that has led them to be in the noble zone of the board. He let, or they did not let him, each one who takes it as they want. We will also have to give him his share of merit, that his plan went perfectly.

The first part was almost more of a boxing match than a soccer game. Courtesy of Melero López, who gave the Valencia players carte blanche, who literally stitched the Real Sociedad footballers to fouls, who went to rest out of their boxes. Nobody understood anything. Because it is one thing to let play, but quite another is what the Andalusian referee allowed, who awarded more to the team that dedicated itself to preventing the other team from trying to play what had really come to the Reale Arena, which is to play to soccer. The Donostiarras did not give up their efforts to play the ball and look for Cilessen’s goal, but only Isak could prove him with a good low shot to which the Dutch goalkeeper responded fantastically. Valencia had a very clear plan, which was to annul the creative players of Real, that they did not play and that they came into contact with the ball as little as possible. From looking for Remiro’s goal and playing something, they were already leaving it for another day. But like it more or less, until the break if the idea was coming off perfectly. Because the Real started with. And not verve, but it faded as the minutes passed.

After the break, the first dilemma to be resolved was whether Melero López was going to maintain the refereeing level of the first half, to let him play to an unsuspected extreme, or to set the bar a little more demanding. And the referee changed, because he was no longer so permissive, but it was late. The Valencia players were already launched and they did not stop distributing, although the Real wanted to adapt to what the game demanded, but it was also late. The party ran the risk of it escaping from his hands. And Melero López wanted to cut his losses, based on yellow, because he swelled to remove them. That upset the two teams, because the worst thing that can happen to the referee is that the two benches end up angry with the refereeing. The referee set the bar very high and the players took risks. It was better for Valencia, more adapted by Bordalás’ indications than Real Sociedad, which is contagious of that game and forgetting about what I really feel is its essence, the game with the ball and not so much the mud of other football.

Valencia was achieving its purpose and entangled a Real, which was curiously left with one less footballer due to the rigorous expulsion of Aritz Elustondo. Rigorous because, seeing the ribbon of his refereeing, he could have stayed in yellow. He came from receiving a very hard tackle from Wass, who was also booked. Another one, because the game became excessively dirty in the final stretch, with Valencia closer to the realistic area, and with Imanol’s men holding out in the final stretch to score a point with one less player. The funny thing is that, while Bordalás with one more player made defensive changes, Imanol took gunpowder up looking for the jackpot. But everything ended as it began. Distribution of points that leaves a different taste in the mouth of both teams, because while Valencia continues to climb positions in the table, the realists lose the leadership.