Barcelona looked to have all but secured victory as the clock wound down, but Santi Mina grabbed a late equaliser four minutes from time to snatch a dramatic draw for his side.
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They last won La Liga in 2004, their sixth Spanish title, and were Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001 but have been hampered by financial problems over the past decade that forced them to sell many of their best players. “I am good, but not that good”.
“We weren’t rewarded for all the effort we put in, but defensively Valencia played very well”.
“I’m not MacGyver”, said Luis Enrique when asked about Abdennour and the the goal.
“To get the three points playing very well in the first half means that these players, who we know are very important, once they get up to speed can cause a lot of damage to any defence”, said Madrid coach Rafael Benitez.
Yet, they made Barca pay for their profligacy when Paco Alcacer held up a long ball over the top and laid the ball perfectly into Mina’s path to slam home his first goal for the club.
“We lacked the ability to finish that we normally have”.
Neville is joining his brother and former team mate Phil, an assistant coach, and will officially take charge on Sunday to prepare for Wednesday’s Champions League Group H game at home to Olympique Lyonnais.
Valencia caretaker boss Voro thinks the confidence gained from the point will help Neville’s job of turning the club’s season around in the coming weeks.
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Valencia thought they had a penalty when Gerard Pique appeared to bring down Enzo Perez in the box, but the referee waved play on. “We’ve managed to get a point and, above all, taken the first step to recovering our confidence”.
