Alesund and Vålerenga Share Eight Goals in Eliteserien Thriller
Aalesund and Vålerenga played out a five-all draw in the Eliteserien on Sunday, a result that leaves the hosts in 14th place with 18 points from 19 games and Vålerenga holding third spot in 11th with 21 from 18 matches. And here's the thing, both teams had already met earlier this month when Vålerenga won 6-1 away, so this time round neither side could claim superiority. By then the visitors had dropped points in two of their last three league games, and the hosts were still searching for a winning touch after losses to Tromsø and Molde.
M. Christensen opened the scoring with a penalty in the third minute, and Vålerenga immediately paid for a sloppy opening — L. Haren saw his spot-kick saved before M. Grundetjern levelled at 14 minutes. M. Reed struck back for Aalesund six minutes later, and E. Hagen restored the lead before L. Haren finally converted his chance to make it 3-2. J. Orsahl then headed home to extend Aalesund's advantage at 5-3, and here's where it gets interesting, because Vålerenga refused to accept that result.
M. Christensen added his second in the 56th minute, but P. Strand pulled one back for Vålerenga before M. Grundetjern completed his brace with a goal in the 70th minute to bring the visitors level again. C. Lange then grabbed the final goal in the 85th minute, and the match finished with both sides having weathered plenty of pressure. Aalesund managed to rescue a point despite Vålerenga's dominance in possession, and to be fair, the hosts defended their box with more conviction than they showed in attack.
The statistics tell the story of a one-sided encounter in terms of territory, with Vålerenga holding 68 per cent of possession and completing 628 passes compared to Aalesund's 284. The visitors created five big chances against two for the hosts, and their shots accuracy of 45 per cent was notably better than Aalesund's 33 per cent. By then the hosts had taken 17 shots with eight on target, while Vålerenga also landed 17 efforts but with ten finding the target.
Both managers made triple substitutions in the 46th minute, and Aalesund introduced I. Nasberg, U. Charles, and O. Gudmundsson alongside L. Haren in the 74th minute. K. Tshiembe collected a yellow card in the 76th minute, and E. Osenbroch came on as a late substitute for Aalesund in stoppage time. The result keeps Aalesund's tally at 18 points after three wins, nine draws, and seven defeats, while Vålerenga's six victories and three draws leave them nine points clear of the drop zone.
