Valencia 0-0 Athletic Club: a point each at Mestalla

Valencia and Athletic Club drew 0-0 at Mestalla on Saturday, a quiet afternoon settled by neither side's attack. Athletic had the better of possession, 63.2% to Valencia's 36.8%, and six corners to Valencia's two, but managed only two shots on target themselves — one fewer than the home side's three. Six yellow cards were shown across the match, three to each team, with César Tárrega and Pepelu both booked for Valencia inside the closing minutes.

Match stats

Form going in

Valencia arrived with just one win from their previous seven league games, a run that had left them 19th in the table before kick-off, so a clean sheet and a point were a reasonable outcome for a side that has mostly been on the losing end of games this season. Athletic Club, unbeaten in their last two league outings going into the weekend, kept that run going without adding the win that would have taken them further up the table — their game in hand, a postponed fixture against Rayo Vallecano, remains outstanding.

Where it leaves both sides

Valencia had gone into the round 19th on 5 points from eight games, just above the relegation zone. Athletic Club sat 10th on 8 points from only six games played, with that postponed match still to come. The draw does little to change either picture, but for Valencia — who had conceded 15 goals in eight league games before this one — a clean sheet counts as progress. Valencia host Villarreal next, on 24 October, while Athletic Club host Getafe the following day.