Valencia 1-1 Rayo Vallecano: Justin Kluivert saved Valencia from defeat on Monday evening. Thanks to a striking penalty from the 23-year-old attacker, the home game with Rayo Vallecano ultimately yielded another point.
Kluivert scores again for Valencia in relegation battle
Kluivert was once again important in the fight against relegation. In the previous home game against Osasuna (1-0), the winger who is loaned in from AS Roma grew into a match winner. After that, he could not prevent a marked defeat against Atlético Madrid, but after the international match, Kluivert was immediately there when his team needed him.
Valencia had to chase Rayo Vallecano early on after Santi Comesaña opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Fifteen minutes later, Kluivert was close to the equalizer with a shot against the post. Ten minutes before the end, a second chance followed when the ball hit the spot and the former Ajax player used the penalty very calmly.
Kluivert’s fifth league goal gave Valencia an important point in the fight against relegation, also because goalkeeper Giorgio Mamardashvili had a crucial save in the final phase on a shot from substitute Salvi. Partly due to that save, Rubén Baraja’s team is temporarily leaving the relegation zone in La Liga, but the danger has not yet passed.
Spanish media applauds Kluivert
“Kluivert pushes Valencia to a point,” was the headline of sports newspaper AS on Tuesday morning. From eleven meters, the former Ajax player shot his ailing employer next to Rayo Vallecano late on Monday evening. A hard-fought point of vital importance.
The coolness with which the attacker withstood the enormous pressure on the penalty is praised. “You have to be very cool to shoot a penalty under such enormous pressure. He was the only one in Mestalla who controlled his heartbeat,” they added.
Kluivert has been a big bright spot in the selection of Valencia in recent months. “What excitement, what passion. Kluivert takes them out of the abyss. He has become the artillery of this fighting machine. His perseverance and passion transfer a spark to the audience,” AS noted. “So calm, so confident, like he was playing with a child. He plays the game with his heart, is elusive and brings Valencia out of the sewer of the relegation zone.”
