COLUMN: On Alaves, bravery, and a relegation battle set to break hearts | OneFootball

In the late 2010s, LaLiga ran a marketing campaign that really did something to my brain. A child of, let’s say, nine years old leaves his home (Malaysia, per one YouTube commenter) for a trip abroad to Spain, where he is enraptured by the sights and sounds of the country’s football. As he tells his mother (I assume) all about his adventure, he reveals how Spaniards live for football, how infectious their energy becomes, and he signs off by saying that LaLiga… Well, it just hits differently.

“That can’t be football. That’s got to be something else.”

As I watched Alaves complete one of the season’s more improbable victories on Saturday afternoon, over Champions League aspirant Villarreal in the pouring rain at Mendizorroza, I was reminded of this ad campaign from the 2017/18 season that plays on a feedback loop in my head. Facing a whopping 15 additional minutes of second-half stoppage time and the loss of starting goalkeeper Antonio Sivera (who was later diagnosed with a concussion and required facial reconstruction surgery), Alaves suffered further adversity when midfielder Antonio Blanco was sent off in the 95th minute – meaning the Basque side would have to defend a 1-0 lead, with nine outfield players, for 10 minutes.

Chacho Coudet, surely sopping wet in his denim jeans, told the media that football “had at last given Alaves something back” due to “various injustices” – and as much as I hate how many coaches in 2025 are using a similar talking point, Alaves arguably did deserve a slice of good fortune. According to Understat’s expected goals methodology, entering Saturday’s game, Alaves would have been 11th in the xG table; prior to his dismissal in December, Luis Garcia Plaza bemoaned his team’s bad luck and lamented that it would eventually cost him his job. Coudet’s men on Saturday permitted 24 Villarreal shots and 2.85 expected goals against… but former Atletico Madrid left-back Manu Sanchez’s 11th-minute goal held up in the end.

“I think we reacted late, and we didn’t take our chances,” Villarreal right-back Juan Foyth lamented after the match.

Image via Deportivo Alaves

But even after all that, Alaves are still in the drop zone. With 27 rounds played (26 for a handful of teams), just three points separate Espanyol in 15th place from Las Palmas in 19th. Valencia only just escaped the relegation places with a 2-1 win over Valladolid; Alaves and Las Palmas will play a vital six-pointer next Sunday, and the Canary Islanders – perhaps decisively – will not have budding star midfielder Dario Essugo after he picked up two yellow cards in eight minutes during a loss to resurgent Real Betis on Sunday.

(Betis, left for dead six weeks ago, are hot on Villarreal’s tail for fifth place – which, thanks to fun with coefficients, is likely to be a Champions League place.)

Alaves’ conviction and display of bravery merited its first win since January, and Coudet can boast of having one of La Liga’s leading goalscorers Kike Garcia – set for his most successful season in Primera at 35 years old. Young defender Santiago Mourino, purchased for €3m from Atletico Madrid last summer, stood out with his six clearances, six recoveries… and only 18 passes attempted. Next weekend they travel to Gran Canaria, where Diego Martinez’s Las Palmas have yet to win in 2025 amid a crisis of chance creation, and Alaves’ resilience offers hope for a win – a giant step toward survival.

The heat is on at Mestalla as well, where Valencia are starting to shine amid the pressure of a first relegation in 39 years. Los Che overcame a quite shocking error from Giorgi Mamardahsvili to beat sorry Valladolid on Saturday; okay, maybe he’s not at his best right now as he closes in on his move to Premier League champions-elect Liverpool.

But the response can be seen in the face of Luis Rioja, a real ringer to have in a relegation scrap; at the feet of midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, arguably Valencia’s best player since the arrival of Carlos Corberan; in the powerful stride of Javi Guerra, Barrenechea’s partner in Corberan’s double pivot, still “green” but appearing revitalised as one of Spain’s better young midfielders. If you take out that awful loss to Barcelona, Corberan’s Valencia are 4-3-2 with a plus-1 goal difference since his arrival; he’s lost only to the three title contenders, successfully (so far) sheltering the dressing room from the distractions just outside.

The heat has been scorching all season at Valladolid, now 11 points from safety and on track to ship 90 goals; fans are angry at Ronaldo Nazario’s, let’s call it disastrous, ownership, and the Pucela have a 99.8 percent chance of relegation, per Opta Analyst. But which teams will join them in the descent?

Well, Leganes were burned after going 1-0 up at Balaidos and lost 2-1 to Celta Vigo; a team that has beaten Barcelona and Atletico now hovers a single point above the drop zone. Espanyol – the only side in La Liga averaging under 40% ball possession – were denied a precious 1-0 win at Girona by a controversial late penalty that Cristhian Stuani duly buried; the Pericos sit two points clear of the mess below, and star goalkeeper Joan Garcia’s (many) saves are only going to get more important from here.

Aside from the virtual certainty of Valladolid’s relegation, Opta’s model has assigned Las Palmas a 67% chance of enduring the drop, and Leganes own the next-worst odds at 41.6%. And at 39.6%, there sits plucky Alaves, who might stay up by the skin of their teeth… and enjoy a ninth season in La Liga from the past 10. Allow Manu Sanchez to make the case.

“The team showed that it never gives up, they knew how to defend the lead with nine players, and that, in the end, they’ll always recover from any adversity that comes.”

Jeremy Beren can be found on social media here, and if you’re hungry for more, find their excellent work here.