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A COLD AND WET TRIP TO STOKE? All in a night’s work for Unai Emery and Valencia


Photograph: J.M.L

Unai Emery cut a fairly relaxed and satisfied figure as he sat in the press lounge of the Britannia Stadium last night. Answering a plethora of questions from the assembled Spanish media who had made the trip to Staffordshire for the Europa League tie against Stoke City, Emery seemed pretty content with the way the game had gone.

And why not? His side had just given a convincing display to the fact that Spanish teams can actually cope very well on a ‘cold and wet midweek trip to Stoke’ – that somewhat tedious cliche normally wheeled-out by critics of all things non-Premier League.

Ok, Emery’s side may have only won by a single goal and should really have finished the two-legged tie off as a contest before the sides resume at the Mestalla next week, but the coach and his team had done everything else right during a night of frustration and anti-climax for the home side.

Billed as one of the English club’s biggest night’s in their history, most people expected Stoke to give their visitors a rough and tumble introduction to how it’s done in ‘the greatest league in the world’, and in turn maybe show the rest of Europe that English sides still hold the upper-hand when it comes to the crunch.

And to be fair to Stoke City, they did come out with all guns blazing – unfortunately it didn’t last.

By the time Mehmet Topal fired in a thunderous 30-yard effort in the 34th minute, the home side were distinctly second best. What is more, they were actually getting out-fought by their Spanish opponents, definitely not what was expected before the game began.

Credit then to Unai Emery for fielding a side that withstood a brief ten minute onslaught before they slipped into gear to take control of the game – the Valencia coach got his team selection spot on in fact.

Pablo Piatti, so often criticised for the inconsistency shown since arriving from Alemria in the summer, was a case in point. The young Argentine was a constant threat and pretty much ran the show for large periods of the encounter – showing some lovely movement around the Stoke penalty area that, with a slightly better end product, could have finished the game off by half-time.

It took los che a while to find their full rhythm it has to be said, they gave the ball away far too cheaply during the opening exchanges, but when they did, they looked in complete control.

Both Topal and Tino Costa where fantastic in midfield, leaving Rory Delap and Wilson Palacios looking very uncomfortable at times, and Jonas again showed why he has been won of Valencia’s stand-out men this season. When you consider the 27-year-old Brazilian only cost the club a reported €1.25 million last January, it is fair to say Jonas has become one of the shrewdest signings of recent seasons.

The former-Gremio player was a continued menace in and around the box and combined well with Sofiane Feghouli and Piatti, who both provided able support from out wide.

Feghouli is another player that has really established himself in Emery’s side this season, finally showing the sort of form that led Valencia to whisk him away from French side Grenoble two years ago.

The 22-year-old has matured into an assured performer and offers Valencia a dangerous threat down the right side of their team – impressing enough to keep Spanish international and club stalwart, Pablo Hernandez on the sidelines. He was also unlucky not to get on the scoreline last night when he slightly scuffed an effort onto Begovic’s post.

The home side did pick their game up for a spell in the second half, but Valencia were more than a match for them – in fact the visitors actually won the physical battle when the game was dragged into the trenches, much to the distain of the 24,185 people sat in the stadium (barring around 60 hardy souls who had made the trip from Valencia). The irony of seeing fans of probably the most-physical side in the Premier League barracking the officials wasn’t lost on many, I am sure.

It is probably the manner in which Emery’s side performed when the game got developed into a battle, that will have most surprised those who doubted their ability to cope during a physical encounter. The visitors were far more robust than even their opponents had given them credit for, which eventually led to frustration spreading first through Stoke’s players on the pitch, and then into the stands.

Adil Rami and Angel Dealbert coped magnificently with the aerial prescence of Peter Crouch and the physicality of Jonathan Walters, who was probably Stoke’s best player on the night, Crouch in particular was highly disappointing in a game that was built-up to be tailor-made for the England international.

Emery also chose to give Aritz Aduriz the nod up front ahead of star man Roberto Soldado, a decision that surprised some English colleagues in the press box but one which was understandable in the scheme of things. Aduriz, as always, worked his socks off and while not being particularly apparent, the work he did throughout the game allowed players around him to find space and, crucially, kept the Stoke defence occupied almost throughout.

The flip side of the this of course, is that Valencia travel to the Camp Nou on Sunday to face Barcelona and now have a refreshed Soldado ready to start against the Catalans (not withstanding his 12 minute cameo at the end of the game.)

A win on Sunday will see the gap to Barça cut to just five points, however even a point at the Camp Nou has proved unachievable for any side thus far.

The fact that Valencia ultimately enjoyed a fairly comprehensive victory (as 1-0’s go)  last night, is resounding justification to Unai Emery’s decision to leave players such as Soldado and Ever Banega out of his side, also giving him a slight selection headache for the trip to the reigning league champions at the weekend.

However it is a position the coach will no doubt be as comfortable with as he was answering the post-match questions last night. It was mission accomplished for Valencia and it was also probably a slight eye-opener for the English media and fans who witnessed the way the La Liga side acquitted themselves. But should it really be a surprise? After all, Valencia have been the third-best side consistanly in Spain for three or four years now and are also seasoned European campaigners.

Meanwhile Stoke performed miracles to progress through the group stage of the Europa League and, with wanting to sound patronising, can be immensely proud of the displays thus far in the competition. Last night however, they were not only outclassed by superior opposition but also, and impressively for the visitors, out-fought when it really mattered.

The tie isn’t over yet of course, with only a one goal advantage, anything could happen in the Mestalla return, but I don’t think there will be many putting money down on a Stoke comeback.

All in all, it was a very-assured and confident display from Valencia and the jovial mood of their coach was enough proof that he was pleased with the night’s work his side had put in.

Ever the pragmatist, Emery ended his press conference by praising the home side and said he was “delighted to come to a place like Stoke City and get a hard-fought win”. With that he was up out of his seat and off through the double-doors ready to prepare for the trip to Barcelona in three days time.

And that mid-week trip to a wet and windy Stoke? I don’t know what all that fuss was about.




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