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대한민국 - Soon
When you can't win, don't lose. And that's what we managed to do at Mestalla, putting further distance between ourselves and the relegation zone. Vastly improved to just a few games ago, our defensive solidity clear for all to see, with goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland and centre-backs Loïc Badé, Sergio Ramos and Kike Salas all putting in assured performances. Ruben Baraja's team pressed, especially at the start of each half, but there are plenty of positives to take from the draw, none more so than a growing sense of robustness at the back, even if we struggled to create in attack.
Valencia started strong, threatening Nyland's goal from the off. In less than a minute, Fran Pérez found himself through on goal, but was left with too much to do to finish things off by himself. Our Norwegian no. 1 then faced two chances from Canós, whose first effort was easily deal with, before unleashing a shot from a wide area but missing the target. We did not offer much in the way of clearcut chances, although our first significant foray into Valencia's penalty box resulted in a possible penalty. Both Mamardashvili and Mosquera handled the ball, but neither was deemed enough not to warrant a penalty.
Nyland was tested time throughout, but saved the team time and time again
After a hectic start, the game slowed down. However, both teams offered some exciting moments with their few chances. The clearest chance of the first half came from Yaremchuk in the six-yard box, after a dangerous cross from Gayá. The Ukrainian tried to control the ball, but Nyland was on hand to keep out the danger from close range. The home side also made a lively start to the second half, through chances from Canós, Hugo Duro and Yaremchuk just six minutes after the restart, the last of which was met with required another great save from Nyland.
Quique, who had replaced Acuña with Pedrosa after the break, also brought on Suso but Isaac and En-Nesyri and Isaac were unable to link up, as they have been doing so successfully in the past few weeks. Veliz on his debut had a couple of chances with two headers but could not convert. As the clock ticked into injury time we held out for a point at Mestalla and to make it four unbeaten. Couple with Cádiz's defeat, we move seven points clear of relegation.