Valencia played two incredible halves of soccer against Mallorca this afternoon in the Mestalla stadium: but they were incredible in two very different ways. In the first frame, Unai Emery's boys absolutely dominated a Mallorca side that looked supremely mediocre: Tino Costa scored a very lucky goal in the 24th minute to open the scoring--his shot bounced off of Nunes, and soared around Mallorca keeper Aouate. But the goal was very much deserved, as los ché thoroughly dominated Mallorca.
Valencia 2-2 Mallorca: Chés Choke, Squander Two Goal Lead
Their second goal seemed to cement their dominance--and lock in the three points: Mallorca defender Tejero and keeper Aouate made a major error in communication, and their misplay fell right to the feet of Valencia forward Aduriz. 2-0 and the game was locked up.
Not so fast. Mallorca came out of the gate looking to get back in the match, and they brought themselves back to respectability almost immediately: Pereira found Nsue with a brilliant ball, and the striker slotted it home with ease in the 57th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, lightning would strike: the play fell to Nsue on the wing, and the playmaker slotted it back into Víctor, who stepped right in front of Valencia defender Mathieu.
It was a truly terrible piece of defending; but more than that, the second goal represented how far Valencia had fallen. They didn’t look at all like the side that began the game, and the Mestalla crowd rightfully dismissed them by whistling and waving handkerchiefs.
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