Valencia win the battle of gut punches with Espanyol

Valencia 3-2 Espanyol

Both Valencia and Espanyol were battling relegation at the same point last season, but Los Pericos arrived at Mestalla with the luxury of a European race in plain sight. Los Che, just a point above the drop zone, can’t help but nervously look behind them.

After a tentative start, Valencia began to build up some stream, with Arnaut Danjuma driving inside the box and having his shot blocked. Moments later, without the game having entered a regular rhythm, Lucas Beltran was able to find a pocket of space in the final third, and slid a pass behind the central defenders. Hugo Duro’s diagonal run meant that if he beat Marko Dmitrovic to the ball, he would have all the leverage, and beat Dmitrovic he did, prodding into an empty net with the miffed Serbian on the floor.

The reaction to the goal came from Los Che though, who continued to apply pressure on the Espanyol goal, with Danjuma firing over again from the edge of the box. Whenever the Catalan side attempted to press, it did set the crowd on edge, but Filip Ugrinic and Pepelu were getting Los Che out of it.

Twice Eray Comert made crucial interceptions to stop almost certain goals in the six-yard box, but those crosses were as close as Espanyol came in the first period, largely being held at arms’ length – which was by the same token an acknowledgement that Valencia’s own threat had diminished.

A game of gut punches

The second period started off almost exclusively in Valencia’s half though, and while they didn’t seem to be making much ground, Espanyol scored with their first real opening. A cross from the right slipped through to Kike Garcia, and although Stole Dimitrievski got down well to block it, he could do nothing about Ramon Terrats thumping in the rebound.

Espanyol continued to find gaps in the Valencia midfield. Edu Exposito off the bench and now running the show, and it was beginning to look like a matter of time before their second arrived – Valencia’s second five minutes later was neither planned nor seemed probable. Comert drove forward after intercepting in his own half unchallenged. His pass sent Danjuma wider than he might have liked, but the Dutchman hit the by-line nevertheless, and his clipped ball was nodded in from close range by none other than Comert.

It took another 15 minutes for Espanyol to recover from the bodyblow, and despite Comert’s eager pursuit of the man of the match award, they did begin to apply pressure again. Garcia saw his header slip all too easily into the gloves of Dimitrievski. By now, Manolo Gonzalez had another issue though, with Umar Sadiq beginning to outbattle his centre-backs. Busting through challenges, Sadiq cut back for Beltran, whose shot was scuffed, before an improbable curling effort from the left corner of the box drifted just past the far post.

85’ | 2-2
Busquem el tercer. Va, va, va!#RCDE #ValenciaEspanyol pic.twitter.com/3kZtsTrKj8

— RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (@RCDEspanyol) January 24, 2026

Just as Los Pericos had been forced to absorb a surprise blow, Valencia took their turn with 10 minutes to go. Beltran’s clearance from the corner found Tyrhys Dolan, and he moved it inside to Urko Gonzalez. Twice his shot deflected, and when the Mestalla crowd located the ball, it was bouncing agonisingly into the far corner, this time Dimitrievski floored.

The final minutes, in keeping with the game, were played out with parity of nerves, strain and opportunities. Both teams saw final passes extend just beyond the forward in the perfect position. It was an outstretched leg from Espanyol defender Ruben Sanchez that did make the difference. He went to clear a loose ball in his box, but Beltran, smart as he was swift, nipped in before him to win the penalty. Ramazani, whose shot had been blocked in the lead up, tested the nerves of Mestalla with a slow run-up… Making the explosion of noise all the more dramatic when he sent Dmitrovic the wrong way.

Mestalla jumped for joy in the very literal sense of a phrase – that’s what breathing room at the bottom feels like for a stressed out stadium. Valencia now have a four-point gap to the drop zone before Alaves play, after a bolshy performance, responding twice to setbacks, and finding moments of quality when they needed them. Despite seemingly applying much more pressure, Espanyol struggled to find clear openings in a backline defined by Comert’s grit. Los Pericos stretch their winless run to four matches, their last a month away, back in 2025.

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