81' - Substitution Gabi R. Jiménez (Atlético de
Madrid)
81' - And now for another Atletico change. Jimenez is
on and will go up alongside Mandzukic after replacing
Gabi.
78' - Goal - Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia)
78' - GOAL!!! VALENCIA ARE LEVEL! Disaster for
Atletico! Gaya wins a free-kick out on the left and
Parejo's overhit free-kick crashes against the crossbar
after Moya failed to deal with it, and Mustafi is on hand
to nod in from close range!
77' - This is a good spell for the visitors. They are
pressing for an equaliser, with Atletico forced back into
their own half. They must concentrate for these final
minutes now, otherwise their faltering title bid could
suffer another blow.
75' - A couple of nervous moments for Valencia there,
as Gimenez slices a Piatti cross behind and into the
side-netting, before Godin almost plays his clearance
straight to the Argentinian with Moya out of his goal.
Luckily for the champions, they escape unscathed.
73' - It's all going fairly well for Atletico at the
moment. Valencia are still failing to offer much going
forward, with Moya yet to make a real save, while the
hosts themselves continue to lok threatening.
71' - Yellow Card - Mario Mandzukic (Atlético de
Madrid)
71' - Yet another yellow card. This time it is
Mandzukic, who has barely been on for 10 minutes, as
he gets into bit of a shoving match with Otamendi and
earns a booking.
70' - OFF THE BAR! Atletico should be two up! Koke's
corner is brilliantly headed back into the danger zone
by Godin at the back post and Tiago is on hand two
yards from goal, but he inexplicably hits the crossbar.
What a miss!
69' - Substitution Koke Mario Suárez (Atlético de
Madrid)
69' - Changes for either side now, as Gomes replaces
Perez for Valencia and Mario Suarez takes the place of
Koke.
68' - Substitution Enzo Nicolás Pérez André Gomes
(Valencia)
67' - After a brief delay, Koke takes the free-kick and
drills a low pass in towards the edge of the box. Tiago
steps over it and Arda meets it, seeing his shot blocked.
Gimenez then pounces and goes for goal from long
range, missing the target by some distance.
65' - Fine run by Juanfran, riding two challenges up
the right flank before eventually being hauled down by
the third, leaving Atletico with a free-kick to the right of
the penalty area.
64' - Good idea by Rodrigo, as the substitute cuts in
from the left and drives a cross towards the back post.
It is too high for Negredo and Piatti tries to collect, but
the ball just about goes out of play before he can get it
under control.
62' - And now a first change for Atletico, as Mandzukic
replaces Torres, who has run himself into the ground
today.
61' - Substitution Fernando Torres Mario Mandzukic
(Atlético de Madrid)
61' - Excellent defending by Godin. Piatti raced clear
of Juanfran's attempted tackle and burst into the
Atletico half, making ground down the left, but along
came the Uruguayan centre-back to shepherd him up
the flank and eventually clear the danger.
59' - There is Nuno's first chance. Feghouli has been
poor and unsurprisingly goes off, with Rodrigo on in his
place.
58' - Substitution Sofiane Feghouli Rodrigo
(Valencia)
57' - Yellow Card - Guilherme Siqueira (Atlético de
Madrid)
57' - Alves saves! Koke hoists the free-kick into the
area and the ball is flicked on towards goal by Torres.
Garcia is on hand to try and direct it at the goal, but his
tame effort is easily held by the goalkeeper.
56' - Yellow Card - Nicolás Otamendi (Valencia)
56' - And now Atletico have themselves a free-kick, as
Garcia is adjudged to have been fouled in the air by
Otamendi, who has his name taken by the referee.
55' - The delayed free-kick delivery from Piatti is poor,
though, and while it does beat the wall, it is headed
clear by Arda on the edge of the area. That was a bit of
a waste from the visitors.
54' - Valencia are seemingly seeing more of the ball
now, as Atletico sit back and invite pressure on to
themselves. The visitors win themselves a free-kick on
the right flank, after Parejo is hauled down by Garcia.
52' - Excellent covering from Gabi. Negredo dropped
deep towards the left in his own half to pick up
possession and he squeezed a pass up the line for
Piatti, who tries to jink inside. The Atletico captain is
there, though, sweeping up and clearing the danger.
50' - Yellow Card - Negredo (Valencia)
50' - Another Valencia player goes into the referee's
book, as Negredo struggles in a physical battle with
several opponents and eventually handles the ball. It is
his angry reaction which secures the card.
48' - Valencia are already looking to produce
something of an improvement, as they go on a rare
venture into the final third. Gabi is robbed of the ball
and Piatti tries to get a shot away, though the Atletico
captain wins a free-kick.
46' - Off we go. Valencia get us started for the second
half.
- Atletico 1-0 Valencia: The hosts take a 1-0 lead into
the break and few would argue that isn't a fair reflection
of proceedings so far. The visitors looked bright in the
first 20 minutes, but offered little since. Koke got the
goal which separates the two sides, while Fernando
Torres' tireless running and great work rate have
proven particularly effective for the champions. Nuno's
side have much to improve on.
45' + 2' - HALF-TIME!
45' + 1' - Yellow Card - Enzo Nicolás Pérez (Valencia)
45' + 1' - Out comes the yellow card once again, this
time for Enzo Perez, who crashes into Tiago on the
follow-through. The Argentinan can consider himself a
little unlucky there.
45' - There will be a minute to add on here.
43' - Valencia's final pass really has not been good so
far. On this occasion it is Feghouli who is presented
with the opportunity to cross from the right, but his
delivery is well overhit.
41' - Great hassling from Torres. Godin clears the ball
up field and sees his pass fly beyond Otamendi, who is
forced back towards his own goal. The Argentinian ends
up losing possession to the Atletico forward, though the
eventual cross from Garcia isn't great.
39' - That Otamendi-Garcia duel is starting to heat up.
The two go in to claim a loose ball and the Argentinian
goes down a little easily, before immediately springing
back up and hurling some choice words at his Atletico
counterpart.
37' - Excellent play by Juanfran, as the right-back takes
up possession and charges up the right flank. He holds
off one challenge and then lures in two more
defenders, eventually winning a throw-in by the corner
flag.
35' - That goal has to be good for this match, forcing
Valencia out of their shell. Nuno's men began quite
brightly and were seeing plenty of the ball, though in
the last 15 minutes or so they have been rather quiet.
34' - Yellow Card - Pablo Piatti (Valencia)
33' - Assist - Tiago (Atlético de Madrid)
33' - Goal - Koke (Atlético de Madrid) GOAL!!!
ATLETICO HAVE THE LEAD! The hosts' free-kick is
hoisted into the area and Torres manages to nod it on
into the danger area. Tiago subsequently chests the ball
down towards the edge of the box and Koke is there to
slam home from 18 yards, finding the bottom-right
corner.
33' - Good battling from Koke, as the midfielder steals
the ball back from Valencia, races forward and wins a
free-kick from Fuego. Good play by the Spaniard and
Atletico have themselves another set-piece.
31' - Yellow Card - Shkodran Mustafi (Valencia)
31' - The ref brings the yellow card out on this
occasion, though, as Mustafi cynically blocks off Raul
Garcia when the midfielder was looking to charge into
the Valencia half, and unsurprisingly sees his name
taken.
30' - Gaya is in some pain here. The young full-back
slid in to beat Juanfran to a loose ball but he was
caught late by the Atletico defender. The referee awards
a free-kick, though he keeps his cards in his pocket.
28' - Koke produces a decent delivery from the corner
and Gimenez rises to meet it, but he can't quite reach it
and is ultimately penalised for colliding with Otamendi
in the air.
27' - Atletico do, however, win themselves another
corner, as a cross from the right is deflected behind.
Their set-pieces have not mustered much so far today,
can this one buck the trend?
26' - There is little flow to this match so far, with
neither side really dictating things at the moment. Both
teams are committing a number of fouls, somewhat
disrupting proceedings.
24' - Atletico try to catch Valencia out with the free-
kick, as Koke plays it short for Gabi, who then turns and
crosses towards Torres. Once again, though, Otamendi
is there to nod clear.
23' - The home fans clearly aren't impressed with the
referee on this occasion, as Fuego gives Torres a bit of
a kick on the heel just inside the visitors' half. A free-
kick is awarded, but nothing more.
21' - Excellent corner delivery from Koke, but no one
can get on the end of it and the ball ends up with Gabi
on the left, who brings it under his control. The captain
curls a fine cross into the danger area, though Alves
collects in commanding fashion.
20' - Good defending by Gaya. Atletico are hoisting the
ball into the danger zone quite a lot at the moment and
Otamendi misses it due to a flick-on right in front of
him. Arda pounces and tries to get a shot away from a
tight angle, but the Valencia left-back is there to block.
18' - Torres is causing a nuisance again, this time
barging into Otamendi as the pair contest a long ball
from the back. The players clash again just after and
the Argentinian is caught in the face by his
counterpart's elbow, resulting in a yellow card.
17' - Yellow Card - Fernando Torres (Atlético de
Madrid)
17' - Better from Arda now, following the Turk's
muted start. He skips away from the tackle of Gaya and
crosses left-footed from the right. Otamendi heads it
away ahead of Torres, but the hosts remain on the front
foot.
15' - That's easy for Diego Alves, as the Valencia
goalkeeper plucks the ball out of the air with ease. He
then releases it quickly, eyeing a counter-attack. Parejo
then brings it forward, but the move ends swiftly when
the midfielder tries to release Piatti beyond the
defence.
14' - Atletico have been excellent from set-pieces this
season and they now have themselves an opportunity
from a corner, as Torres' delivery is knocked behind.
Gabi comes across ready to fire into the danger zone.
13' - Good defending there by Godin. Valencia try to
exploit the pace of Feghouli down the right, with the
Algerian released behind Siqueira. Nevertheless, the
Uruguayan centre-back comes across and shepherds
the ball out of play.
11' - Valencia are really knocking the ball around well
now. Perez drops deep and links with the two centre-
backs, before then inviting Barragan forward from
right-back. He in turn finds Feghouli, who loses his man
and prods a pass towards the edge of the area for
Parejo, but his first-time effort in towards Negredo is
cut out by Gimenez.
9' - Valencia do appear to have settled into this match
now. Atletico's frantic start looked to be making them
uncomfortable, though they are starting to see a little
more of the ball themselves. There's no reason why
they shouldn't be confident.
7' - More pressure from the hosts now, with Atletico
attempting to exploit their visitors down the left.
Siqueira charges forward and manages to squeeze a
cross in towards Torres, though it is slightly overhit and
Valencia clear.
5' - Audacious effort from Negredo there! Piatti, who
has really hit form recently, attacks Atletico down the
left, jinking this way and that to lose Juanfran, before
crossing to the back post. The Spain international
striker meets it with a scissor-kick, but it is blocked well
by a defender.
4' - Lively start from the hosts so far. They are first to
every ball at the moment, pressing high and with great
intensity. Again Atletico rob Valencia of possession in
the final third and Arda tries his luck from the edge of
the area, though his effort is dragged horribly wide and
it ends up going out for a throw-in.
3' - There is the first look of the Otamendi-Torres
duel. The Spanish forward looks to race on to an
advanced pass played in behind the centre-back, but
the Valencia man wins a free-kick after going down very
easily.
1' - Off we go! Atletico get us underway at the Vicente
Calderon.
- The players are now out on the pitch as kick-off
approaches. This should be feisty!
- Valencia, despite their recent form, will of course be
seen as slight outsiders today. They have not won any
of their last five matches at Atletico, with the champions
going out with something of a point to prove. Today's
visitors are able to name Nicolas Otamendi in their
starting XI after being doubtful and Nuno will
undoubtedly be happy about that, with Torres starting
on the back of a very lively and encouraging cameo
against Sevilla last time out.
- Valencia, on the other hand, come into the match
full of confidence. Nuno's men have won four on the
bounce in La Liga, a run which had seen them stretch
seven points clear of Sevilla in the race for the final
Champions League place. A 4-3 victory over Deportivo
La Coruna yesterday saw Unai Emery's men shorten
that to four points, but a win in Madrid today can
restore that lead and, more importantly, see Valencia
move above Diego Simeone's side and up to third, with
a late title bid not out of the question.
- Atletico welcome Valencia to Madrid in a somewhat
indifferent mood. The champions have won just one of
their last four games in all competitions, with defeats to
Bayer Leverkusen and Celta Vigo followed closely by a
0-0 draw at Sevilla last week, a result they were rather
fortunate to secure. On top of that, they are without
star man Antoine Griezmann due to suspension, while
Miranda and Saul also miss out, and Mario Mandzukic
settles for a place on the bench once again. However,
Koke is welcomed back to the starting XI after
overcoming his fitness problems.
- Valencia subs: Yoel, Joao Cancelo, Felipe Augusto,
Orban, Rodrigo, De Paul, Andre Gomes.
- Valencia starting XI (4-3-3): Diego Alves; Barragan,
Otamendi, Mustafi, Gaya; Fuego, Parejo, Perez;
Feghouli, Negredo, Piatti.
- Atletico substitutes: Oblak, Hernandez, Mario
Suarez, Jesus Gamez, Jimenez, Mandzukic.
- Atletico Madrid starting XI (4-2-3-1): Moya; Juanfran,
Godin, Gimenez, Siqueira; Tiago, Gabi; Arda Turan, Raul
Garcia, Koke; Torres.
- CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS:
- Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of the
Primera Division clash between Atletico Madrid and
Valencia. My name is Ryan Benson and I shall be taking
you through the action today, as these two sides go
head-to-head at the Vicente Calderon, with plenty at
stake towards the top of the Liga table.