Valencia edged Las Palmas 1-0 at home to earn back-to-back victories which propelled them to pip Atletico Madrid at the summit of the ongoing La Liga 2023/24.
Midfielder José “Pepelu” Garcia, who arrived from Levante in the offseason, successfully converted a penalty in the 73rd minute after Javi Moz was booked for a handball in the area.
Valencia, who struggled to avoid relegation last season, started this campaign on a high as they claimed back-to-back victories, beating Sevilla 2-1 and Las Palmas respectively.
Ruben Baraja’s side lost several key players in the summer including their regular starters Samuel Lino, Edinson Cavani, Yunus Musah, Justin Kluivert, Ilaix Moriba and Nico González.
The first half of the game saw Las Palmas’ goalkeeper Álvaro Vallés saving shots by Diego López and Thierry Correa when the visitors enjoyed more possession but the hosts had better chances.
Valencia next face Osasuna on Sunday (August 27) while Las Palmas will take on Real Sociedad on August 27.
Meanwhile, in another La Liga fixture, Villarreal claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over RCD Mallorca, courtesy of a brilliant second-half goal by Gerard Moreno.
The two sides put on a rigorous battle at San Moix but despite Quique Setien’s aggressive lineup, Villarreal struggled to establish a rhythm and create chances at first.
Alex Baena and Ben Brereton Diaz then stood out in the later part of the first half, allowing Villarreal to push forward more.
The Yellow Submarine finally got the reward when a corner saw the ball fired towards Predrag Rajkovic, who deflected it to Gerard, who then guided it in for the only goal of the game.
Mallorca then made desperate efforts to push forward, leaving their defence wide open and substitute Etienne Capoue tried to make the most of it but Villarreal failed to strike again to make the victory more dominating.
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