Valencia had to go deep for it, but on Monday evening they won the Del Turia Derby against fellow city rivals Levante. In the entertaining La Liga game, Levante took a 2-0 lead, before Valencia turned the game around via Carlos Soler and Gonçalo Guedes.
The home team broke the spell after twenty minutes in a somewhat fortunate way. After Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby was unknowingly on the hand after a header from Óscar Duarte, referee Pablo González Fuertes decided to point to the spot. Although Jasper Cillessen initially had an answer to José Campaña’s attempt with a nice save , the Orange international watched as the same Campaña used the rebound.
Valencia had barely recovered from the red lantern bearer’s lead in La Liga when the difference was extended to two goals. On a pass from José Luis Morales, Roger Martí made it 2-0 three minutes after the opening goal. Valencia realized it had to do something and picked up the pace. Shortly before the break, the game regained its tension after a nice diagonal shot by Gonçalo Guedes.
Soler
After the break, referee Fuertes again pointed to the spot, this time in favor of Valencia. Levante defender Ruben Vezo kicked Hugo Duro down, after which Soler successfully capitalized on the opportunity. The same Soler remained icy calm after being cleared in the penalty area. Dani Cárdenas was able to touch his shot with his fingertip, but not enough to stop Valencia’s turnaround.
For Levante, which is still waiting for the first league win of the season, it got even worse in the final phase. When Cárdenas knocked out his left back Carlos Clerc on exit, Guedes easily tapped the ball in for 2-4. Enis Bardhi did something back in injury time after a VAR check, but his goal only determined the final score. Levante collected only eight points after eighteen matches. Valencia crept past Barcelona in the standings and are in seventh place with 28 points.
