VALENCIA, Spain --
La Liga has a new head coach among its number. If Gary Neville, the former Manchester United and England fullback, is a surprising choice as the man to guide Valencia from their mid-table mire to the top-four respectability they believe is their proper place, he will be pleased with the first impressions he gained of his new employers and of the league he has joined. Valencia, scarcely recognizable from the disjointed group of players whose previous coach, Nuno Espirito Santo, quit six days ago, impressed the watching Neville in holding champions Barcelona to 1-1 draw.
In doing so, Los Che made an unexpected impact on the title race. Barcelona had not dropped points for quite a while. They have not passed through nearly an hour of a match without scoring, either, as they did at the Mestalla where Saturday night proved the sort of occasion their head coach Luis Enrique had feared. The change in management sparked a specific reflex in a set of jaded, demoralized players. It is no secret Nuno had lost not just the affection of Valencia's notoriously demanding supporters, but some in the squad, too.
Valencia, who finished fourth in La Liga last season, slumped to ninth place. But whatever the fresh motivations around them, relief at a change, or a determination to impress Neville, who chose to observe this fixture before starting work in earnest ahead of Wednesday's meeting in the UEFA Champions League with Olympique Lyonnais, they looked galvanized. "We are very satisfied in how we played," Valencia interim manager Voro told reporters after the match. " We earned a point but it's the first step in restoring confidence and improving at all levels."
There are several theories about how best to defend against Barcelona's formidable front three; Lionel Messi, now returned from injury and mobile enough for 90 minutes of fluid movements into deep positions and towards either flank, and Luis Suarez and Neymar. It is to be expected that Neville, who since his retirement as a player who had a distinguished career in the defense of Manchester United and England has made a career as an incisive tactical analyst, chiefly on British television, has some idea on how best to cope with Barca's strikers, too. If he does, they may look something like what Valencia did for the first half.
It was not a perfect piece of marshalling or policing, but it was rugged and alert. Ayman Abdennour put himself in the way of much what Barcelona tried to thread into the Barcelona penalty area. Abdennour's partner in central defense, Santos, stretched out a leg to divert a menacing cross headed for a well-placed Suarez. Not so resolute were Valencia's fullbacks, particularly the youthful Vezo on the right, who was passed at ease by Neymar and Alba. Valencia's luck was that Barca finishing was a little awry on the night.
That was until just before the hour, when Suarez, outmuscling Abdennour not once but twice in the same move, finished from a narrow angle after having started his final run in a position that on another day might have been called offside. It was Suarez's 13th goal of the league season, putting him just one behind fellow Barca teammate Neymar.
"We dominated the match," reckoned Luis Enrique after the match. Considering the ratio of chances and possession on the ball, Luis Enrique was right. He added: "Today football has not repaid our effort but Valencia have worked very well in defense and then taken advantage of a great move at the end with [Paco] Alcacer and Santi Mina."
The pair of young Valencia strikers, mastering a long ball from deep, the sort of rare counter-attack which had been their best hope of a breakthrough, gave Neville and 50,000 valencianistas something to smile about with the equalizing goal with just four minutes of normal time remaining.
There were smiles in Madrid at that outcome. A very bad week indeed for Real Madrid finished with the gap between third, Real's place in the table, and Barcelona, top, cut to four points and a critical, angry crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu muffled by a 45-minute spell of potent muscle-flexing by the trio of strikers who have been rather overshadowed lately by the brilliant combinations of Neymar and Suarez. The so-called BBC of the Bernabeu each scored in the first-half of Madrid's 4-1 win over Getafe. Karim Benzema score twice, while Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo each scored once. Benzema had apparently told his coach he would claim a double. "He said he would score twice," said Rafa Benitez. He made good on that promise within quarter of an hour of kickoff.
Benitez must wish life could always be so confidently predicted. The Madrid coach was loudly jeered before Madrid tore Getafe apart, as was Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and unused substitute Denis Cheryshev. Poor Cheryshev will be associated for a long time with the administrative error that has cost Madrid their place in the Copa del Rey. Cheryshev played in the midweek match in that competition against Cadiz -- and scored -- as nobody at Madrid registered the fact he was carrying a suspension over from a match in the Copa del Rey he played on loan for Villarreal last season. Madrid intend to appeal against their sanction for fielding an eligible player but at the moment are out of the Copa del Rey.
At least, though, they end the weekend two points up in the joust for the Spanish Primera crown.
