Jasper Cillessen made his comeback under the bar at Valencia on Saturday. The goalkeeper was preferred over Giorgi Mamardashvili by coach José Bordalás for the first time this season and appeared at the starting signal of the home game with Athletic Club. The duel with the Basques narrowly ended in 1-1, thanks to a goal in extra time. Valencia, which now has eleven points from seven matches, was on the field with ten men at the time.
Mamardashvili benefited from injuries suffered by both Cillessen and Jaume Domenech at the start of the season. The young Georgian, who was actually attracted to the second of loose Che, was one of the reasons that the Bordalas team got nine points from the first four days of play. However, defeats followed against Real Madrid (1-2) and Sevilla (3-1). Especially in Andalusia, Mamardashvili did not make a good impression.
Iñigo Martínez passes Jasper Cillessen for the 1-0 ?? Valencia still have 20 minutes to repair the deficit ???#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #ValenciaAthletic pic.twitter.com/UlPH54eDnj
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 25, 2021
Cillessen thus appeared on Saturday for the first time since May 22, when Valencia drew 0-0 at Huesca, in Valencia’s goal. The the Dutch international didn’t have much to do, except for a free kick by Iker Muniain and a few high crosses, but after 69 minutes the ball was behind him. After a corner by Alex Berenguer from the right, Iñigo Martinez headed the ball into the left corner out of reach for Cillessen: 0-1.
Valencia seemed unable to prevent the third loss in a row, partly because the final phase also had to be completed with ten men. Maxi Gómez was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Óscar de Marcos. In the fourth minute of extra time, however, it was Marcos André who worked the ball from close by behind goalkeeper Unai Simón on a pass from Gonçalo Guedes: 1-1. Valencia could thank Cillessen for not moving the scoreboard again. With a brilliant save, he had an answer to a header from Iñaki Williams in the fifth minute of extra time.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | Seville | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| 5 | Valencia | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 6 | Rayo Vallecano | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 7 | Athletic Club | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 8 | Barcelona | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 9 | Real Betis | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | Osasuna | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 8 |
| 11 | Real Majorca | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 8 |
| 12 | Villarreal | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 13 | Espanyol | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 6 |
| 14 | Cadiz | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -2 | 6 |
| 15 | Elche | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -3 | 6 |
| 16 | Levante | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | -3 | 4 |
| 17 | Celta de Vigo | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 4 |
| 18 | Granada | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -6 | 3 |
| 19 | Alaves | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -9 | 3 |
| 20 | getafe | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -8 | 0 |