Valencia 0-0 Levante: Valencia seals automatic Champions League qualification after dour derby draw

Valencia and Levante played out a drab derby at the Mestalla as the score finished 0-0 with both teams showcasing a distinct lack of quality. However, the point was enough for Unai Emery's side to sew up third place in La Liga and automatic entry to next season's Champions League.

The game began at a frantic pace with a host of poor challenges and lack of care in possession. However neither Cesar Sanchez nor Gustavo Munua in the Valencia and Levante goals respectively were troubled in the opening quarter of the game.

The first real significant moment of the match came in the 20^th minute as Roberto Soldado was fouled by Xisco Nadal. The Levante player was subsequently shown a straight red card for a horrible attempted tackle that was deemed dangerous play by the referee, Teixeira Vitienes. Soldado was left rolling around on the ground in agony and took several minutes to get back to his feet in order to allow the play to commence.

It took just over half an hour for the first real opportunity of any note to occur. The chance fell to Emery’s men as Portuguese defender Ricardo Costa got his header on target only to be thwarted by a good save from Munua.

Levante’s 5-3-1 formation was causing Valencia real trouble in terms of breaking the visitors down. Luis Garcia’s men were showing a distinct lack of attacking threat and looked happy to take a draw in their fight for La Liga survival.

The first half drew to a close with the score tied at 0-0, with four yellow cards dished out and a solitary red card. Both teams were given two cautions each and it was this physical approach combined with Levante’s deep  lying defense that was the cause for such a dull spectacle. The home fans made their frustrations very evident as the halftime whistle went.

The second half commenced similarly to how the first half ended, with a stalemate looking like the definitive outcome. Valencia was trying to take the game to its opponents, but was knocked back on each attempt. The lack of creativity from the hosts was immediately evident, especially as both Juan Mata and Joaquin were seemingly having off days.

There were hardly any significant attempts on goal throughout the entire second half which only frustrated the home fans further. Soldado tested the Levante goalkeeper, and Felipe Caicedo had a decent attempt on target for the visitors before he was substituted.

The derby ended 0-0 and it was sufficient for Valencia to seal third spot as Villarreal lost at home to Real Madrid. Levante moves up to 12th but could still be relegated if it loses to 18th placed Real Zaragoza in the final day of the season.

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