Valencia vs. Barcelona: Score and Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

With new boss Gary Neville watching from the stands, Valencia held La Liga leaders Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Mestalla on Saturday. Los Che battled back to equalise after Barca took the lead early in the second half.

Luis Suarez put last season's treble winners in front. But Santi Mina answered after an excellent move.

Barca came into the game fielding an experienced starting XI. Ex-Valencia man Jordi Alba returned at left back, while Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique were at the heart of defence.

Sky Sports La Liga on Twitter provided the full team:

Los Che featured talented striker Paco Alcacer as well as playmaker Daniel Parejo:

Yet, like any side facing Barcelona, Valencia's main priority was to try to stop the best front three in world football. Unfortunately for the hosts, Messi, Neymar and Suarez all started brightly.

Messi missed early on, before Neymar ballooned a shot well over the bar. Despite the wayward finishing, though, the visitors were at least confidently controlling possession in a hostile stadium.

Neville even looked a little anxious early on:

Neymar and Alba were providing a constant threat to the right flank of Valencia's defence. The Brazilian was particularly tormenting right-back Ruben Vezo.

ESPN's Dermot Corrigan thought the duel favored the visitors:

Neymar and Alba were creating numerous chances, but Barca squandered them all. First, Neymar teed up Messi, but he shot straight at the goalkeeper.

Then a low cross from Alba was just taken off the toe of Suarez:

Somehow, Los Che survived to go in level at the break.

Barca's first-half dominance on the ball was best summed up by this Andres Iniesta stat from OptaJose:

The away team didn't let up raiding down the left flank after the break. Neymar worked another opening for Suarez, but the Uruguayan was flagged offside.

But Suarez finally broke the deadlock 10 minutes after the restart. Latching on to a volleyed pass from Messi, Suarez held off beefy centre-back Aymen Abdennour and smashed home an emphatic finish.

The tussle between the two players was significant because moments earlier Suarez was involved in an unsavoury clash with the ex-Monaco man. Corrigan provided details of the incident:

Although, Spanish football writer Sergi Dominguez took a different view:

Spanish publication AS showed this highlight of the coming together between Suarez and Abdennour:

That wasn't the end of the controversy as Suarez had appeared slightly offside before racing to reach Messi's pass.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Marca felt Suarez had strayed the wrong side of the line:

Still, the goal stood and continued the former Liverpool man's terrific scoring run, according to MisterChip:

Valencia nearly answered quickly. Parejo wanted a penalty after a melee in the box but found the referee rightly unmoved.

Los Che wasted an even better chance with less than 15 minutes to go. Rodrigo De Paul robbed Sergio Busquets on the edge of the box, but instead of rolling the ball to an unmarked Zakaria Bakkali on the left, he shot tamely at goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

But Valencia did equalise after a flowing move involving Bakkali and the gifted Alcacer. Bakkali played it into the cerebral target man. His chest control was excellent, as was the turn that preceded the delicately rolled ball to tee up Mina to level it.

The smart assist emphasised Alcacer's growing creative output:

Messi tried to instantly cancel out the equaliser with a high, curling free-kick off his left foot. The effort was tipped wide. Los Che then wasted a superb break after a poor final ball.

In stoppage time, Messi and Suarez combined to create a shooting chance for the former. But the ball went straight to the 'keeper. Messi should have shifted things on to Neymar.

Barca stay top but are just two points clear of Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile, Valencia move up to seventh, having played a game more than many of the teams around them.

Post-Match Reaction

Naturally, Suarez was quickly asked about the mooted stamping incident. He insisted his actions were accidental, according to Michael Toll of Barca's official site: “The play where I stepped on their player was involuntary and I apologised.”

Asked about the result, Barca boss Luis Enrique refused to be down on his team, according to the club's official Twitter account:

Busquets expressed a similar sentiment about the stalemate:

As for Valencia, stand-in caretaker Salvador Gonzalez Voro deserves plaudits for overseeing an excellent result.

Neville will have been delighted by what he saw. This is a squad with plenty of quality. But they've also proven they have the graft to turn around what has been a lukewarm campaign so far.

A tough draw for Barca won't slow their progress. While Enrique will have one eye on rampant Atleti, he knows his squad still boasts the firepower to retain the title.