Newcastle United beat Valencia 2:1 in a club friendly on Friday evening at the Mestalla. The visitors took the lead after a late goal from Y. Wissa, despite going in behind following F. Ugrinic's early strike. The match finished with the scoreline reflecting Newcastle's clinical edge, even if Valencia controlled more of the play.
Valencia started brightly and went ahead after just five minutes when F. Ugrinic found the net. The home side kept pushing for a second, but the game shifted dramatically at the 36th minute when J. Gaya picked up a red card. By then, Valencia had to play with ten men and the momentum began to drift away from them.
Newcastle made the most of their numerical advantage, bringing on A. Elanga for the substitution at 39 minutes. They waited patiently, and when Y. Wissa finally scored at 76 minutes, the visitors took control of the result. The goal came after a period of sustained pressure, and it felt like the moment the match turned.
Both managers used their substitutes freely, with R. Sato, N. Woltemade, and M. Thiaw coming on for Newcastle, while A. Bamba and J. Guerra were brought on for Valencia. The game settled into a rhythm after the goals, with neither side able to extend their advantage. There was one yellow card for J. Murphy at 87 minutes, the only booking of the contest.
The statistics tell a different story from the result. Valencia registered five shots on target compared to Newcastle's two, and they had 114 attacks to the visitors' 110. But shots accuracy of 0.42 for Valencia versus 0.29 for Newcastle shows where the chances went to waste. Many shots with one goal means chances went begging, as the home side struggled to finish.
Valencia's recent form included a draw with Stoke City and a win over Derby County, but this result adds to a pattern of not converting dominance into points. Newcastle, meanwhile, have not won since their last competitive fixture against Fulham, and this friendly victory offers little consolation. The match finished 2:1 to the visitors, a scoreline that reflects more luck than merit on the night.