Those in attendance at the Mestalla were treated to a frantic opening 10 minutes, with Valencia creating three excellent opportunities to open the scoring, however Yunus Musah, Justin Kluivert, and top scorer Edinson Cavani were all off target.
Almeria had the worst away record in LaLiga this season prior to the game, both in terms of points collected and goals scored, so it was little surprise that they struggled to threaten in the first half. However, with half time approaching, the visitors were awarded a penalty when the ball hit the arm of defender Gabriel Paulista.
Much to their frustration, though, Largie Ramazani, who hadn’t found the net since August, saw his spot-kick crash into the left post and away to safety as a big chance went begging for Rubi’s side.
Gennaro Gattuso will have wanted an improvement in the final third, and he got his wish when, less than three minutes after the restart, Andre Almeida’s delivery into the area bounced nicely for Kluivert, who timed his header to perfection to direct it past Fernando and into the net for his third league goal of the season.
The travelling fans will have feared the worst after this setback, however they were level just six minutes later when Lucas Robertone’s corner was headed in by Chumi to stun the home crowd.
The following six minutes were barely believable, as Valencia saw a penalty overturned by VAR and Samuel Lino’s headed goal ruled out for offside, before Gaya forced the ball home on the rebound to restore his side’s lead.
The drama was far from over though, as substitute Francisco Portillo capitalised on a defensive error 15 minutes from time to earn the visitors a rare and welcome point on the road.
Although frustrating, the result sees Valencia climb one place to 12th, while Almeria remain 14th.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lucas Robertone (Almeria)
