Emery aware of aerial weaknesses

Valencia coach Unai Emery said he must address several problems in his side.

Emery said the weaknesses came to light in the 2-2 draw with Racing Santander on Sunday.

After falling behind to a second-minute strike from Adrian Gonzalez, Valencia appeared to be heading towards three points after a brace of goals from second-half substitute Aritz Aduriz.

However, Racing snatched a point courtesy of a late header from Bernardo, leaving Emery bemoaning his side’s vulnerability in the air once more.

The 40-year-old coach argued in his post-match press conference, though, that “what we’re doing wrong also clearly involves our passing game – and not just set pieces.”

Valencia set up an intriguing Copa del Rey semi-final showdown with Barcelona by seeing off Levante during the week but Emery wants his players to put that tie out of their minds and is urging them to concentrate on securing qualification for the Champions League.

Indeed, while Valencia remain third in the table, five points clear of fourth-placed Levante, Emery said the draw was not good enough.

“A point is insufficient. All the signs are that we must focus on the league.”

Valencia return to action at the Vicente Calderon next weekend against Diego Simeone’s in-form Atletico Madrid side.