Marcelino under pressure as Valencia held at home

MADRID: Missed chances and home setbacks – it’s been a familiar plot for Valencia this season.

And it happened again on Saturday.

Valencia was held at Mestalla Stadium once more, conceding late to relegation-threatened Valladolid in a 1-1 draw in the La Liga, adding pressure on embattled coach Marcelino.

The plot was repeated: Valencia played well and had plenty of chances to put the game away, including with a penalty kick but it wasted most of them.

“These things are difficult to explain,” Marcelino said.

“It’s not the first time we have a game like this, when we are completely superior but our opponent ends up scoring with a great goal.”

This time, a well-placed free-kick by Ruben Alcaraz in the 82nd minute cost Valencia the home victory after Dani Parejo opened the scoring about 10 minutes earlier.

Striker Rodrigo’s penalty in the 54th was saved by Valladolid goalkeeper Jordi Masip, who also stopped forward Santi Mina’s closerange attempt off the rebound.

Mina, in his 100th league game with Valencia, also missed an opennet chance later in the second half.

South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in entered the match late, becoming the youngest foreigner to play in the league for Valencia at age 17 but he also couldn’t do much to help the hosts avoid the setback.

It was the seventh draw in 10 home games for Valencia in the league and 11th overall in 19 league matches.

With only four wins, Valencia sit 10th in the standings.

Valladolid, who barely got near Valencia’s goal at Mestalla, celebrated the draw but it extended the team’s winless streak to five matches in all competitions. They are 14th on the table.

Valencia were coming off a firstleg loss to Second-Division club Sporting Gijon in the Spanish King’s Cup, a result that prompted increased calls for Marcelino’s firing.