The Portuguese left “by mutual consent” following the previous weekend’s defeat at Sevilla.
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Barca’s next outing is a Champions League Group E game at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, when there is little at stake for the holders who have already won the section and qualified for the last 16.
After an entertaining first half at Estadio Mestalla, Luis Suarez opened the scoring for the visitors in the 59th minute when he latched onto Lionel Messi’s pass and converted for the 13th time in as many Liga appearances this term.
He appeared to be offside before slotting in at the near post just before the hour.
It was a gritty, battling performance from Valencia, who were chasing the ball for long periods but never gave up, and all the more impressive as they were severely depleted by injuries and suspensions.
“We weren’t clinical in front of goal”.
Valencia’s interim manager Voro believes he has “laid the foundations for improvements” for when Gary Neville takes charge of Los Che for good. “There is nothing to reproach the team for”, said Barca boss Luis Enrique.
“Today football did not reward us for our efforts”. Despite the draw, Barcelona continue to lead the table with 34 points from 14 games.
Real ended a turbulent week off the pitch with a 4-1 win over Getafe.
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That was the Frenchman’s first goal since being charged in a blackmail scandal involving global teammate Mathieu Valbuena. Karim Benzema scored twice before halftime, while Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo also netted before the break in a game which had begun with boos aimed at coach Rafael Benitez and Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez as a result of the club’s disqualification from the King’s Cup knockout competition.
