Valencia and Athletic Club finished 0-0 at the Mestalla on a night when the home side had the pressure but not the finish. Cesar Tarrega was named Flashscore Man of the Match after Valencia stayed unbeaten under Javier Aguirre yet again failed to turn a promising start into three points.
That result mattered because Valencia were chasing a first home win of the season at the fifth attempt, and the draw means that wait goes on. Athletic Club, meanwhile, left with another clean sheet and extended an unbeaten run that has now matched their longest from last season.
Valencia began with heart and pushed Athletic back early, but the visitors rarely looked stretched. Their best first-half opening was a Johaneko Louis-Jean shot that deflected well wide, while Inaki Williams could not hit the target from a promising position and Jose Gaya chose to pick out Hugo Duro rather than shoot at the other end.
The game never really opened up. Stole Dimitrievski turned a Williams effort behind for a corner in the 44th minute, and the teams had combined for just 13 goals across their first seven matches this term, a number that fitted the night perfectly. There was little to suggest a breakthrough was coming.
Valencia tried to force one after the interval. Arnaut Danjuma side-footed wide seven minutes after half-time, David Otorbi had a shot blocked after taking the ball around the goalkeeper, and Unai Simon watched a low effort from Otorbi drift just wide. Javi Guerra then saw one shot blocked by Simon's legs after Gaya pulled the ball back to him before later sending another straight at the goalkeeper.
For Valencia, the frustration is sharper than the scoreline. They stayed unbeaten under Aguirre, but unbeaten is not the same as moving forward, and a team that has gone without a league win under him still has to find a way to turn pressure into a result. They also avoided losing four in a row at home for the first time in a decade, which is a relief, not a solution.
Athletic Club's own note was more complicated. Last weekend their away game at Rayo Vallecano was abandoned after less than 15 minutes, and since mid-September they had not completed 90 minutes before this match. Even so, they matched their longest unbeaten run from last season, this time with two wins rather than three, and left Mestalla with a point that felt sturdier than the score alone suggested.
