Pablo García punishes Valencia in the 83rd minute. Best Comunio / Sofascore players.

Valencia CF

The game corresponded to the first matchday of LaLiga 2026/27, postponed until August 25. Valencia arrived after a 0-0 draw against Celta and with little room for recovery, while Betis had started by winning 1-0 against Real Sociedad. Carlos Corberán kept a setup with five defenders and brought on Maffeo, Diakhaby and Hugo Duro from the start; Pellegrini, for his part, completely changed his back line but kept his attacking front with Antony, Fornals, Riquelme and Cucho Hernández.

First half

Valencia's best spell came early. Ryunosuke Sato warned very soon with a shot from outside the area and, in the 12th minute, the clearest moment of the first half arrived for the home side. Hugo Duro headed it on to Arnaut Danjuma, whose finish forced a save from Álvaro Valles; the Betis goalkeeper responded immediately again against Sato. Two stops that would also carry a lot of weight in the fantasy scoring.

The Valencia plan was to protect themselves with plenty of bodies and speed things up when Sato or Danjuma found space. Javi Guerra tried to keep those breaks going and, in the 21st minute, he delivered a cross from the corner that Diakhaby headed wide. Betis began to gain ground as the minutes passed. Fornals started to appear between the lines, Deossa gave continuity to several possessions, and Antony threatened whenever he could receive the ball angled toward his left foot.

After the hydration break, the match tilted territorially toward the visitors. Valencia found it harder to link their first forays with the attackers, and Betis found situations to set up close to the area, though without forcing too much from Dimitrievski. Fornals had an opportunity from the middle of the area in the 36th minute and, in stoppage time, Antony and Deossa tried their luck without breaking the 0-0. The break came with the scoreline balanced and the sense that precision in the final yards would make the difference.

Second half

Valencia returned from the dressing room with the intention of regaining initiative. Sato had two blocked shots almost immediately and Corberán did not take long to make changes. In the 55th minute, he brought on Luis Rioja, Filip Ugrinic and Umar Sadiq for Maffeo, Danjuma and Hugo Duro. The move gave the home side more attacking presence and Rioja went looking for goal as soon as he came on.

Pellegrini responded four minutes later with Isco and Fran García. The battle of substitutions ended up being decisive. Valencia created danger from set pieces in the 63rd minute, with a header from Tárrega and a follow-up effort from Diakhaby that were blocked, but Betis started to have more space once the home side pushed up. Deossa tried twice and, in the 72nd minute, the newly introduced Troy Parrott was very close to scoring in his first league appearance with the verdiblancos.

The depth of Betis's bench ultimately changed the script. Antony forced Dimitrievski into action with a shot from outside the area in the 77th minute and, two minutes later, Pellegrini used his final change by bringing on Pablo García for Fornals. The gamble took four minutes to pay off.

In the 83rd minute, Betis launched a quick transition, Fran García advanced down the left and played the ball into the area for Pablo García, who connected with a left-footed finish and beat Dimitrievski. 0-1 punished a Valencia side that had been growing with the changes, but that once again found itself without accuracy in the rival box.

Corberán's team still had an answer. Sadiq found Álvaro Valles in the 85th minute, Tárrega went for an equalizing header in the 89th minute, and Valencia piled up corners and balls into the area during the six minutes of added time. Ugrinic also had one last shot from outside the area, but it went wide. Betis defended their advantage and closed out another match without conceding. Valencia, despite finishing with 16 shots and eight corners, once again left Mestalla without a goal.

Top Comunio / Sofascore performers

For Valencia, the best Comunio scores went to César Tárrega and Javi Guerra, both with 6 points. Tárrega backed up that figure with a strong 7.2 in Sofascore and put in a solid display in central defense, while also popping up several times in set-piece situations. Javi Guerra finished with 7.1 in Sofascore and was one of the few players able to keep Valencia's play going and link up with the attackers. For fantasy users, both come out strengthened despite the defeat.

Guido Rodríguez also reached 5 Comunio points, with a 6.9 in Sofascore, while Maffeo added another 5 before being substituted. Further down were the attacking players: Hugo Duro and Danjuma ended their involvement with 3 points each and Valencia again left without an attacking reward.

For Real Betis, the big fantasy beneficiary was Pablo García: 12 Comunio points and 7.5 in Sofascore. He came on in the 79th minute and scored the only goal four minutes later, an impact that was hard to improve from the bench. His performance inevitably puts him on managers' radars, although at Mestalla he started as a substitute.

Álvaro Valles was close to the same level, with 11 Comunio points and an outstanding 8.3 in Sofascore. The goalkeeper kept Betis in the double chance involving Danjuma and Sato during the first half and stepped in again when Valencia went in search of an equalizer. A clean sheet, important saves, and a rating that makes him one of the standout fantasy names of the match.

Betis's back line also produced good scores. Ángel Ortiz and Valentín Gómez racked up 7 Comunio points and a 7.3 in Sofascore, while Fran García reached 7 points and a 7.1 after coming on in the second half and assisting Pablo García for the 0-1. Antony and Facundo Bernal completed a very productive block with 6 points each. There were no players with negative Comunio scores in either team.

Match details

Result: Valencia CF 0-1 Real Betis.

Goal: 0-1, Pablo García (83'), assist by Fran García.

Stadium: Camp de Mestalla. 45,472 spectators.

Referee: Jon Ander González Esteban. Booked Sato and Diakhaby for Valencia and Junior Firpo for Real Betis.

Valencia CF: Dimitrievski; Maffeo, César Tárrega, Diakhaby, Pepelu, Jesús Vázquez; Javi Guerra, Guido Rodríguez; Sato, Hugo Duro and Danjuma. Also played Luis Rioja, Ugrinic, Sadiq, Otorbi and Aliou Dieng.

Real Betis: Álvaro Valles; Ángel Ortiz, Diego Llorente, Valentín Gómez, Junior Firpo; Facundo Bernal, Nelson Deossa; Antony, Pablo Fornals, Rodrigo Riquelme; Cucho Hernández. Also played Isco, Fran García, Héctor Bellerín, Troy Parrott and Pablo García.