Valencia survival hopes boosted by Mari late winner
Valencia were outside of the relegation zone only because of their superior head-to-head record over Getafe this season, which made their task today to make every chance in front of goal count, and that is exactly what Justin Kluivert did in the eighth minute. The AS Roma loanee clinically swept the ball into the corner of the net past Ivan Villar following exquisite build-up play from Diego Lopez down the left-hand side.
Hoping to avenge their 3-0 defeat suffered in the reserve fixture in September, Celta had to be patient in their attempt to test Giorgi Mamardashvili in the Valencia goal, as it took until the 22nd minute for Kluivert’s Roma teammate, Carles Perez, to force the Georgian international into a smart save at his near post. Despite dominating over two-thirds of possession as the game entered the first half's final minutes, Valencia surprisingly found themselves on the back foot as Renato Tapia and then Perez fired two quick-fire warning shots on the Los Che goal.
Celta picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, dominating and only Mamardashvili’s outstretched fingertips denied Haris Seferovic’s effort from finding the bottom corner. However, Valencia’s shot-stopper was helpless to prevent Seferovic from finally finding the back of the net on the hour mark, as the striker majestically rose off the Estadio de Balaidos turf to head home Fran Beltran’s inswinging corner.
With the momentum now firmly on their side, Celta were inches away from completing a second-half comeback, however, Oscar Rodriguez could only watch on as his free-kick struck the post. That miss would then come back to haunt the hosts, as with less than two minutes left in regular time, Dimitri Foulquier crossed for Alberto Mari to plant an authoritative header past Villar.
Despite having Gabriel Paulista sent-off for a second bookable offence deep into injury time, Valencia held on to register a 2022/23 league double over Celta, ahead of their match against second-placed Real Madrid at the Mestalla Stadium in a week’s time.
Meanwhile, despite being six points clear of the bottom three with only four matches left to play this season, Celta Vigo remain one of the seven teams still involved in one of the most exciting, and equally unpredictable relegation battles seen in La Liga for several years.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia)