By defeating Celta Vigo 3-2 at home on Thursday, Valencia won consecutive games for just the third time all season, but more importantly, attained some hope.
A winner from Carlos Soler in the 86th minute saw Voro Gonzalez win for the seventh time since taking over in January, and the club moved into 12th place in the La Liga table - its highest position all season long.
Soler’s goal on its own was brilliant - a delicious lob that left goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez completely bamboozled. On a broader scale, it marks a potential rebirth of Valencia after a season of headscratching results. Sinc3 1997, Valencia finished in the bottom half of the La Liga table just once, winning two league titles in the process and qualified for the Champions League 10 times. This team is not one that is used to bottom-half struggles.
Carlos Soler with an incredible goal for Valencia earlier against Celta Vigo https://t.co/ZpwaBD8JvY
— Cobham Blues (@cobhamblues) April 6, 2017
Last season, the club won just twice in the final two months to slump to a 12th placed finish, and the struggles continued through this campaign. But now, with a gritty win against a strong Celta Vigo side, there is a platform for potential growth.
There’s still plenty of work to be done, with one of the league’s worst defenses and an offense only capable of counterbalancing such a struggling back line on occasion, but for now, the potential for saving the season is there, and while no tangible goals are left to attain, the higher the finish now, the better foundation there is for next season to build upon.
