Deportivo Alavés vs Valencia CF

Valencia edged Alavés 0-1 at Mendizorroza in a tense, tight contest settled late on. The standout moment belonged to Luis Rioja, who struck the winner against the very club where he spent five seasons before his move to Mestalla. Valencia thought they'd broken the deadlock in the 17th minute when Arnaut Danjuma finished from close range, but VAR ruled the goal out for offside. Alavés held firm until the 78th minute, when Javi Guerra slipped Rioja through to finish calmly. Yellow cards were shown to Antonio Blanco, Guerra, Pepelu, Aaron Mayol, and Guido Rodríguez, though there were no red cards or penalties. For Alavés, it's a frustrating home defeat early in the season. For Valencia, it's three valuable away points and a fittingly emotional strike from Rioja against his old side to build momentum going forward.