Valencia, bottom of the League after a disastrous start to the season, came back to life at Mendizorroza, where no one had managed to make a dent in the first three matches. The last-place team, with a colossal Javi Guerra, reacted under the guidance of Óscar Sánchez, the interim coach who will act as a bridge between the dismissed Carlos Corberán and his yet-to-be-revealed successor. The Valencian team achieved their first victory (0-1) at the expense of an Alavés who lacked the finishing touch to seal the game during their rival’s worst moments.
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Óscar Sánchez managed to surprise Quique Sánchez Flores. The interim coach, awaiting Braulio Vázquez, the new sporting director of Valencia, to find the right coach willing to sit on this very unstable bench, where no one lasts two years since Marcelino left, managed to motivate a starting eleven in which he inserted a debutant, Aarón Mayol, only 18 years old, one of the academy’s gems. Valencia, beyond the new faces, caught Alavés by surprise because they shaped up as a more dynamic, daring, and coherent team than in the previous five rounds, still with Carlos Corberán, increasingly distant from the players.
Quique, with a distinguished past as a Valencianista, one of those who has the bat in his heart, did not know how to contain this rival who pressed him on the ball exit, who moved quickly in a team game where the midfielders orbited around Guido. The Argentine defensive midfielder, the sun king of this team, always brings light to Valencia’s play, which started at Mendizorroza, where no one had scraped even a single point in three matches, with their best 25 minutes in a long time.
Alavés, one of the surprises at this start of the League, fourth place, took half an hour to wake up and become that vertical team again that slips quickly through the cracks of the opposing defense. The brighter Valencia ended up fading in the area, where Nahuel Tenaglia won the duels against an incisive Danjuma, a goal-less forward who also failed to connect with Hugo Duro. Alavés, with two beautiful technical gestures from an extraordinary Ángel Pérez, created more danger than their opponent during their period of dominance. It was clear that the Vitoria team had more penetration and, already in stoppage time, forced Dimitrievski to save the 1-0 with two good interventions.
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𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑹𝑰𝑫𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑨𝑻 🦇🧡
— DAZN España (@DAZN_ES) September 15, 2026
On Óscar Hernández’s debut, Javi Guerra brought the magic and Luis Rioja a goal that could change @valenciacf’s season 💥#LALIGAenDAZN ⚽ pic.twitter.com/XTFvxCuwP4
Valencia lost precision and appetite as the match progressed. Danjuma, always lost in his harmless flourishes, was unable to connect with anyone. Alavés, on the other hand, was bringing out the movements they have so internalized in attack that allow them to hover around the opposing goal with ease. Chances kept coming and the fans began to anticipate another triumphant night.
Alavés lacked the finishing touch to bring down Valencia, and Quique Sánchez Flores took off Toni Martínez to give Mariano a chance. Their opponent resisted but suffered again from something that has weighed on them since the start of the season: no one was able to provide a goal pass. Until Javi Guerra appeared, again him, a vital man in this Valencia, who after a skillful cut in midfield, delivered a deep pass that Luis Rioja, returning to a field he knows well, converted into a goal (0-1). Shortly after, Guerra, huge, ran again to give another gift to Otorbi, who could have sealed it but shot too wide. It didn’t matter. Valencia had shown they are alive.
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| Position | PT | PJ | PG | PE | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
3 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
5 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
6 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Position | PT | PJ | PG | PE | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
16 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 17 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
18 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
19 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
