Ruben Baraja has a dilemma for his point of attack of Valencia this Sunday before the real Madrid, one of the coach’s favorites. After being sidelined for three weeks due to injury, Justin Kluivert returned to the ‘false’ nine eleven in Vigo and took seven minutes to score. Alberto Marí came off the bench in the 79th minute at Balaidos and nine minutes later he scored the winning goal for Valencia with a precise header. But Sunday’s scorers were actually the third and fourth choices for the coach, who did not rely on Edinson Cavani due to suspension and who had Hugo Duro between cotton all week due to muscular discomfort. And that’s not counting the injured Marcos André.
The decision was not easy. Cavani has evident quality and his tireless work but he has not scored for almost five months. He did it for the last time on December 31 at Villarrea farm. Hugo Duro is a fighter who wears down rival defenses like no other but his drought is more severe. His only goal in the League came in the month of September. On the other hand, with his six goals (one more than Cavani’s) Kluivert has been Valencia’s top league scorer and now he has also shown that he can act as a false striker. His goals per minute average, however, is low compared to Marí’s, with one goal in 33 minutes played. But it was, in addition, the academy player scored the first goal against Villarreal which was canceled due to a very strict offside.
Baraja has always said that he wants to have as many options as possible to choose from and this is one of those weeks where he will not be short of candidates or arguments to find a striker to face Madrid.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
