Gary Neville’s already fragile position as Valencia manager was dealt a hammer blow after Barcelona went goal crazy in their first leg Copa del Ray semi last night.
Ex Liverpool striker Luis Suarez helped himself to four in front of an expectant Nou Camp, whilst Lionel Messi scored a hat trick on the way to an emphatic 7-0 victory.
Whilst a sending off for German defender Shkodran Mustafi on the stroke of half-time certainly didn’t help the cause, the way the visitors limply went about things will no doubt worry their beleaguered manager.
After 8 games without a La Liga victory and confidence at an all time low, it may seem like a return to Monday night football’s giant touchscreen would be a likely next port of call for the ex Man Utd player. Still, G Nev seemed pretty defiant in the post match presso.
Responding to a question concerning if he would quit or not, he simply said “no”. He then added:
“I won’t sleep well tonight. I didn’t like what I saw.
“It was one of the most painful experiences I’ve had in football. I’ve had some as a player and now I’ve had some as a manager. We have made so many silly errors that you can’t make at any level, let alone against this team.
In all, it all seemed rather reminiscent of the last time a United legend took a pounding at the Nou Camp. Sir Alex Ferguson took his bright eyed and bushy tailed side to the venue in 1994, only for Romario, Stoichkov and co to rip them to absolute shreds.
What followed however was two Champions League medals in the coming years.
Saying that, just three points in Valencia’s next La Liga meeting will more than suffice for poor G Nev.
Here’s match highlights….
