Neville has been appointed as Nuno Espirito Santo’s replacement in a somewhat surprising move and watched on as Voro and brother Phil Neville presided over a gutsy display that saw Santi Mina cancel out Luis Suarez’s opener late on.
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Suarez, who has 18 goals in 20 appearances in all competitions this term, told the Spanish sport daily: ‘I’m satisfied for having had a good season and more than proud to have two team-mates among the finalists as they deserve it.
Amid an electric atmosphere at kick-off, the game began at frenetic pace, Danilo’s effort squirming wide for the hosts, who were without suspended pair Joao Cancelo and Javi Fuego.
There was a hint of offside as Luis Suarez broke the deadlock just before the hour, latching on to a ball over the top and then beating Jaume Domenech at his near post from close range.
“We weren’t rewarded for all the effort we put in, but Valencia defensively played very well”.
Luis Suarez has set the Nou Camp alight since his arrival from Liverpool in the summer of 2014, and this season has been no different with the striker netting 12 goals in 12 La Liga games.
“The difficulty is in coming up against a team who sit back and is strong”.
Not to be left out, Suarez also looked to get into the action, but his far post volley went over the bar, before Santos clipped the ball from off his feet when he looked certain to score.
Even after falling behind, Valencia remained reluctant to commit too many men forward in fear of seeing the game slip away quickly as Barcelona continued to dominate.
The Uruguayan believes his teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar are now the two standout players in football and feels they both deserved their Ballon d’Or nominations.
Prior to scoring his goal, Suarez was on the edge of the box waiting for a play to develop.
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-Santi Mina has scored his first goal for Valencia in La Liga.
