Gary Neville watch: How the Valencia manager fared on his managerial debut

Gary Neville’s first memory of management will be seeing his Valencia team knocked out of the Champions League.

The England coach watched from the stands on Saturday as Los Che fought back from a goal behind to earn a point against Barcelona, but he took to the bench for Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Lyon.

Shkodran Mustafi hit the post from a corner in the opening stages of the encounter and the German defender then had a goal controversially ruled out – although that was as good as it got. 

Lyon, who had nothing to play for, played with freedom and wrapped up the three points with a goal in each half from Maxwell Cornet and Alexandre Lacazette.

Even a win wouldn’t have saved Valencia from dropping into the Europa League next year, though, as Gent beat Zenit in Belgium to progress to the last 16 as group runners-up.

---

TOUCHLINE STYLE 

The first thing we learned about Gary Neville The Manager is that he’s a suit man, not a tracksuit man – or at least that was his choice of clothing for the game against Lyon.

He often left his dugout for the touchline, but didn’t offer too much advice to his players; nor did he show too much emotion.

Instead, Phil Neville would appear to bark the orders – Gary’s regularly admitted he’s been impressed with his brother’s grasp of the Spanish language and he was the one interacting with the players here.

“Joao [Cancelo], dentro!” Phil was heard screaming at one point in the first half in a Manchester accent.

As the game slipped away, though, Neville did appear a little more animated, although only a little.

This may change as his language skills improve, but against Lyon he remained very passive as Valencia’s Champions League dreams slipped away from them.

---

TEAM SELECTION

---

Neville brought defenders Cancelo and Mustafi back into the side after both missed out on the Barcelona draw due to a suspension and an injury respectively.

He kept everything else the same, though, meaning 19-year-old midfielder Danilo Barbosa and promising Argentine forward Rodrigo De Paul kept their places.

De Paul was joined in attack by Paco Alcacer and Santi Mina – who combined for the equaliser against Barca – as Valencia began the match with a 4-3-3 formation.

---

STYLE OF FOOTBALL

“To say you are one style or another is very dangerous,” Neville said ahead of his managerial debut against Lyon.

On Wednesday, however, one style might have been nice because Valencia failed to get going in any area of the pitch.

Initially they looked good going forward, particularly posing a threat from set pieces, but they were unable to change the tempo of the game and force the matter once they went behind.

There’s clearly talent in this squad and Neville will now have to begin to work on dragging that talent out of his players in a collective way.

---

IN-GAME CHANGES

Javi Fuego was an early introduction, but that was due to an injury to Enzo Perez in the first half.

Alvaro Negredo, though, was a much more interesting substitution.

The former Sevilla and Manchester City striker was brought on after 52 minutes – much to the delight of the Mestalla supporters.

The 30-year-old had fallen out of favour under previous manager Nuno Espirito Santo, but he will now get a second crack of the whip under Neville.

Negredo’s arrival prompted a switch to 4-2-4, with Parejo dropping back into a deeper role, as Neville tried to give it a go.

Pablo Piatti then replaced De Paul, but the game was already up – Valencia had lost their shape and Lacazette would soon put the nail in their Champions League coffin.

---

POST-MATCH QUOTES

“I just felt that we didn’t have the energy to compete with Lyon,” said Neville.

“I think the counter attack was a big problem for us. We knew their split strikers would be a problem, that they would counter attack, but we had to prevent that better.

“I felt that they deserved to win. We showed a lot of spirit and fight but not didn’t really create enough chances to win. We had a moment in the first half where Mustafi scored, which may have been a goal, but other than that it was difficult for us.”

---

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE EXIT

Even if Valencia had won, they would still have exited Europe’s top table.

Gent’s win at home to Zenit ensured they went into the last 16 regardless of what happened at Mestalla.

Instead, Los Che will now focus on the Europa League in 2016, with a potential clash with Neville’s former side Manchester United a possibility if both sides progress in the competition.

---

WHAT NEXT?

Neville has to be targeting three wins from his next three games before the brief Christmas stoppage in Spain.

Since he was appointed he’s seen his new side take on La Liga champions Barcelona and then took charge of a must-win Champions League game, but things should become a little more straight forward in the coming weeks.

A trip to Eibar in the league at the weekend is followed by back-to-back home games – the first against lower league side Barakaldo in the Copa del Rey and the second against Getafe in the Primera Division.

Source – Goal.com

Edited by aderinwaledavid