Los Che now boast a seven-point margin to the bottom three and, if eighth place in LALIGA EA SPORTS becomes a European berth, they’re now closer to European qualification than to relegation. They have also provisionally regained fourth place in the all-time LALIGA standings.
This is thanks to a great run of results which includes their 2-1 victory away at Real Madrid in Matchday 30. Not since 2008 had Valencia CF won at the Bernabéu, and they hadn’t won an away league game in the 2024/25 season, but they did so on Saturday in what proved to be a wild game.
The winning goal was scored by Hugo Duro at a 95th-minute counter attack, at the end of a game which had a little bit of everything. Mouctar Diakhaby opened the scoring for the visitors, and later had his blushes spared by VAR which ruled out an own goal for a prior offside. Vinícius scored an equaliser for Real Madrid, but not before having a penalty saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili. The game then seemed like it was destined to finish as a 1-1 draw, but Rafa Mir’s perfect cross set up Hugo Duro for a historic winner.
“From beginning to end, the boys competed with the personality you need in a place like this and with the mental strength to overcome any setback,” explained coach Carlos Corberán afterwards.
Valencia CF’s turnaround under Carlos Corberán
Corberán deserves a lot of credit for turning Valencia CF’s situation around. When he arrived in late December, the team sat in the relegation zone with just 12 points from 17 matches, a rate of 0.71 points per game. Across his 13 games in charge, they’ve picked up 22 points, a rate of 1.69 points per game.
In fact, since Corberán arrived, Valencia CF have collected the fifth-most points of all teams in LALIGA EA SPORTS. Their form under the 41-year-old manager has been Champions League calibre, and a victory at the Bernabéu underlines that.
January signing Umar Sadiq has been very important, with his four league goals so far, while fellow centre-forward Hugo Duro remains important too, as he proved on Saturday. Corberán has also gotten the most out of 22-year-old winger Diego Lopez, a player he has used in every league game so far and a player who has scored four goals, even earning the March Under-23 of the Month award in LALIGA EA SPORTS.
Valencia CF are currently on a five-match unbeaten run and have some very winnable games coming up on their schedule. If looking at the average position of remaining opponents, Valencia CF have the fifth-easiest schedule from here to the end of the season. Corberán has insisted that he isn’t thinking about European qualification, but if Valencia CF can extend their unbeaten streak they might have to start looking out their passports.