After Raúl brought Schalke even in the 64th minute, Unai Emery made an immediate adjustment, knowing a 1-1 result puts his team down going back to Gelsenkirchen. As a result, Valencia’s brought on Joaquin, who had two goals at the weekend, as well as Vicente. Alejandro Domínguez and Ever Banega have been sacrificed, with Emery set to go with an aggressive 4-4-2.
UEFA Champions League, Valencia Vs. Schalke: Unai Emery Adjusts, Brings On Two Attackers
The formation should give Valencia some width they'll need as the match goes on, with Schalke, having their road goal, possibly content to take this scoreline back to Germany. That change won't matter, though, if Valencia keeps giving Schalke openings as they did in the 74th minute, with a back pass from to Vicente Guaita forcing the goalkeeper out of his box to play a ball that was about to be intercepted by a Schalke attacker.
Now eight minutes after Emery made his two substitutions, Valencia still do not seem to know how to play in their new formation. Or, maybe Valencia is shocked after dominating the match only to see Raúl give Schalke the advantage. Regardless, Valencia is just now coming out of their funk, finally seeing some play in Schalke’s third.
Approaching the 80th minute, Valencia and Schalke are tied 1-1.
See More:
