Spanish La Liga
ValenciaValencia2EspanyolEspanyol1

Valencia 2-1 Espanyol

Gary Neville
Neville had led Valencia to victory in four Copa del Rey ties before breaking his La Liga duck

Gary Neville was relieved to earn his first league win as Valencia manager but said there would be no celebration as he still has a big job to do.

Valencia claimed their first win in 10 games under Neville with Saturday's 2-1 victory over struggling Espanyol.

"I'm happy with it, but it's just one small step forward. Relief is probably a good word," said Neville, 40.

"Fans and media have been within their rights to say the things they are saying. I'd have said the same."

Relive Neville's first La Liga win

Espanyol had lost their last eight away league games but went ahead through a Oscar Duarte header after 52 minutes, continuing Valencia's record of never having led a league game under Neville.

The home side equalised when substitute Alvaro Negredo scored with a deflected effort in the 71st-minute.

And on-loan Real Madrid winger Denis Cheryshev then headed the winner as Neville's side moved seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Alvaro Negredo and Denis Cheryshev celebrate
Alvaro Negredo's goal was his ninth of the season

England coach Neville admitted this was a game he needed to win after overseeing four defeats and five draws in the league since taking on his first managerial position in December.

The former Manchester United captain had come under pressure from supporters following the poor run of results and a 7-0 loss at Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

'Not about best performance'

Valencia finished fourth last season, but had not won in the league since 7 November going into Saturday's game.

"The fans were incredible tonight, especially when we went 1-0 down," said Neville. "They stayed with every single player, and me, and I am grateful for that.

"The game tells us that football is not about putting on the best performance. But today we got the result.

"It's not a night for any celebration whatsoever, not to get carried away. We'll gain some confidence from the result. There's a good feeling from the dressing room and we'll take things forward."

Gary Neville earns first Valencia league win
Neville's former England team-mate Carragher refers to the former Manchester United striker whose goal in a 1990 FA Cup replay is widely thought to have saved Alex Ferguson from the sack

Former Liverpool coach joins Neville's staff

Meanwhile, Neville has added former Liverpool and Valencia assistant manager Pako Ayestaran to his coaching team.

Ayestaran will supplement Neville's existing staff, which includes brother and ex-Manchester United team-mate Phil Neville.

Ayestaran, 53, was Valencia's number two between 2001-04 before filling a similar role for three years at Liverpool under Rafa Benitez and has since managed in Israel and Mexico.

Line-ups

Valencia

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Alves Carreira
  • 2Cancelo
  • 4Santos
  • 23AbdennourSubstituted forNunes Vezoat 7'minutes
  • 6Siqueira
  • 10Parejo
  • 15PérezBooked at 33mins
  • 8Feghouli
  • 17RodrigoSubstituted forNegredoat 58'minutes
  • 24CheryshevSubstituted forBarragánat 84'minutes
  • 9Alcácer

Substitutes

  • 3Nunes Vezo
  • 7Negredo
  • 11Piatti
  • 12Barbosa da Silva
  • 16Bakkali
  • 19Barragán
  • 25Ryan

Espanyol

Formation 4-4-2

  • 13López
  • 16López Rodríguez
  • 22González SoberónBooked at 13mins
  • 24Duarte
  • 5Álvarez Delgado
  • 25Asensio
  • 12DiopBooked at 43mins
  • 10González CasanovaBooked at 58mins
  • 9Franco AlvizSubstituted forRocoat 80'minutes
  • 20CaicedoSubstituted forSánchez Mataat 66'minutes
  • 28Sylla DialloSubstituted forMoreno Balagueróat 12'minutes

Substitutes

  • 3Duarte
  • 4Sánchez Mata
  • 6Roco
  • 7Moreno Balagueró
  • 8Sevilla López
  • 19Jordán Moreno
  • 26Prieto Albert
Referee:
Carlos del Cerro Grande
Attendance:
34,794

Match Stats

Home TeamValenciaAway TeamEspanyol
Possession
Home58%
Away42%
Shots
Home17
Away20
Shots on Target
Home4
Away6
Corners
Home9
Away9
Fouls
Home8
Away19

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Valencia 2, Espanyol 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Valencia 2, Espanyol 1.

  3. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Enzo Pérez (Valencia) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Paco Alcácer.

  4. Post update

    Corner, Valencia. Conceded by Óscar Duarte.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Espanyol. Conceded by Aderlan Santos.

  6. Post update

    Attempt missed. Gerard Moreno (Espanyol) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Víctor Sánchez with a cross.

  7. Post update

    Attempt missed. Pape Diop (Espanyol) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Víctor Álvarez.

  8. Post update

    João Cancelo (Valencia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Víctor Álvarez (Espanyol).

  10. Post update

    Daniel Parejo (Valencia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Gerard Moreno (Espanyol).

  12. Substitution

    Substitution, Valencia. Antonio Barragán replaces Denis Cheryshev.

  13. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  14. Post update

    Delay in match Diego Alves (Valencia) because of an injury.

  15. Post update

    Attempt missed. Gerard Moreno (Espanyol) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left following a corner.

  16. Post update

    Attempt saved. Álvaro González (Espanyol) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.

  17. Post update

    Corner, Espanyol. Conceded by João Cancelo.

  18. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Marco Asensio (Espanyol) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Espanyol. Enzo Roco replaces Burgui because of an injury.

  20. Post update

    Attempt missed. Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Saturday 13th February 2016

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Barcelona22173256173954
2Real Madrid24165370234753
3Atl Madrid23163434112351
4Villarreal24146430181248
5Sevilla2310763224837
6Ath Bilbao2410593534135
7Celta Vigo2310583436-235
8Eibar239683631533
9Dep La Coruña2461443330332
10Malaga2486102121030
11Valencia2461082825328
12Real Sociedad2376103134-327
13Getafe2375112635-926
14Real Betis2468101833-1526
15Rayo Vallecano2466123249-1724
16Sporting Gijón2365122638-1223
17Espanyol2464142148-2722
18Las Palmas2356122336-1321
19Granada2355132546-2120
20Levante2345142143-2217
View full Spanish La Liga table