15 Shots, One Goal: Luis Rioja Gives Valencia a 1-0 Win at Alaves

Valencia edge Alaves 1-0 with late Luis Rioja finish

Valencia defeated Alaves 1-0 at Estadio de Mendizorroza on Tuesday, September 15, earning their first La Liga win of the season. The decisive moment arrived in the 78th minute, when Luis Rioja converted from close range after an assist from Javi Guerra. Rioja had entered only 19 minutes earlier, making his late contribution the defining intervention of the match.

Rioja provides the breakthrough

The match remained goalless through the opening 77 minutes despite Alaves producing the greater volume of attempts. Valencia then made their pressure count after Hugo Duro was replaced by Rioja in the 63rd minute. Guerra supplied the assist, and Rioja put Valencia ahead with a normal goal. Alaves responded by introducing Mariano Díaz and Youssef Enriquez for Toni Martínez and Denis Suárez in the 67th minute, but those changes did not produce an equaliser.

Valencia protected the advantage with further changes late on. Rioja made way for Jesús Vázquez in the 82nd minute, while Justin De Haas was replaced by Iker Córdoba. The visitors completed the match without conceding, securing a narrow away victory.

Alaves had more attempts, Valencia controlled possession

The statistics show a split between territory and attacking volume. Valencia held 57% possession and completed 388 accurate passes from 474 attempts, compared with Alaves’ 271 accurate passes from 343. However, Alaves registered 15 total shots to Valencia’s 10 and had 11 efforts from inside the box against five for the visitors. Both teams managed three shots on goal, while Valencia made three saves and Alaves made two.

Alaves also recorded eight shots off target to Valencia’s two. The visitors’ five corners compared with two for Alaves, and Valencia committed 14 fouls to seven. The numbers suggest Valencia used its greater share of the ball more efficiently, while Alaves created more attempts but could not find a finish.

Discipline and league impact

The game produced five yellow cards and no red cards. Javi Guerra and Alaves’ Antonio Blanco were booked in the 21st minute, José Luis García Vayá followed for Valencia just before half-time, and Aaron Mayol and Guido Rodríguez were cautioned after the interval. Valencia therefore accounted for four of the five bookings.

Before the match, Alaves were fourth with 10 points from five games after three wins, one draw and one loss. Valencia were 20th with one point from five matches, having recorded no wins and four defeats. This result gives Valencia three points and ends that winless start, while Alaves suffer another defeat after a recent sequence listed as win, draw, win, win, loss.

Rioja was the standout performer, receiving a match rating of 7.7. He scored the winning goal and recorded one shot on target. José Gayà followed with a 7.5 rating and three tackles, while A. Danjuma supplied four key passes in a performance rated 7.2.