Valencia form brings up fearsome statistics – ‘The ball burned us’

Valencia are not enjoying their start to the season, with Los Che locked to the bottom of the table after five matchdays. Already they are three points from safety, and their start to the season is their worst in a quarter of a century.

As per Relevo, Valencia have not started a season with just one point from five games since 1999, albeit there was more belief in their players then, with a quality squad to get them out of trouble. Their only point came in a 1-1 draw against Villarreal, and the ownership invested just €1.2m this summer in the transfer window.

It is true that Valencia have faced five of the current top eight teams in La Liga and three of the top five from last season, which is not an easy start to the season. Manager Ruben Baraja explained after their 3-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Sunday night that regardless of facing good opponents, he was unhappy with the manner of the defeat.

“We are not going to get out of this situation in a game or two, if you are not able to come here and show your face it is very difficult to change it. This is a very difficult ground, but I did not like how the defeat occurred, I believe that we have given life to Atleti so that they could get ahead.”

“This is not our league, we have to accept that, this defeat should not affect us. If you want, I’ll tell you another story, but the story is the one I told you: we have to play better than today, we haven’t been able to put 4 passes together, the ball burned when we got it…”

Their loss to Atletico also brought up a remarkable five months since their last victory, a 1-0 win over Osasuna on the 15th of April. Up next Valencia face Girona and Osasuna at home, followed by trips to Real Sociedad and Leganes. If they cannot secure one or two wins from those games before the international break, they will be under major pressure.