Quique Setien’s honeymoon period lasted less than two weeks as he tasted his first Barcelona defeat on Saturday in his second La Liga game in charge after a 2-0 loss to Valencia.
A Jordi Alba own-goal and Maxi Gomez’s strike at Mestalla raised early doubts about Setien’s appointment and gave Real Madrid the chance to move three points clear at the top of the table when they visited Real Valladolid yesterday.
Sevilla jumped to third, above Atletico Madrid and five points behind the top two, after they beat Granada 2-0.
Photo: AFP
Barcelona had most of the ball, but Valencia had the best chances as Gomez missed a penalty and also hit the crossbar in the first half.
Gabriel Paulista had a third goal ruled out late on.
While performances under previous coach Ernesto Valverde were stodgy and familiar failings went unresolved, he did leave a side in first place.
Setien promised a new style, but few will cheer a team that loses. Despite dominating possession, Barcelona did little with it and as Valencia grew in confidence, they ceded control, too.
“There are things they have not understood or maybe we have not have explained ourselves well,” Setien said. “In the first half, quite frankly, we were bad.”
The question is whether Setien is trying to impose too much, too soon.
“The players have to adapt to the coaching staff to understand,” Sergio Busquets said. “There were some good things, but we have to improve.”
Valencia climbed to fifth and continue to improve under Albert Celades. The success came without captain Dani Parejo and, largely, without star striker Rodrigo.
The hosts hardly touched the ball for the first six minutes, but the plan was to sit and absorb, and it worked. When Valencia did intervene, they were more dangerous.
With their first attack they won a penalty as Jose Gaya slipped past Gerard Pique and would have scored before being brought down.
Pique was booked and, with Parejo absent, Gomez stepped up, only for his driven shot to be saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Barca were riding their luck and after halftime Pique’s flicked header landed at the feet of Gomez, whose driven effort took a cruel deflection off Alba and flew in.
Setien traded the patience of Arthur Melo for the physicality of Arturo Vidal, while Rodrigo came on for Valencia to a rousing reception.
Barcelona exerted some pressure and Lionel Messi led the way, yet just as a Barcelona equalizer began to feel inevitable, Valencia struck again.
A quick throw caught Alba out of position, and Torres did well to cut inside and switch to Gomez. He took a touch and curled into the corner.
Meanwhile, Sevilla celebrated the club’s 130th anniversary by brushing aside Granada as Luuk de Jong put them in front, before Nolito made it two before halftime.
Elsewhere, Villarreal won 2-1 at Deportivo Alaves, while RCD Espanyol drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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