Aston Villa midfielder Harvey Elliott (9) on bench before the Europa League match between Aston Villa and BSC Young Boys at Villa Park, Birmingham, England on 27 November 2025.
Aston Villa midfielder Harvey Elliott (9) on bench before the Europa League match between Aston Villa and BSC Young Boys at Villa Park, Birmingham, England on 27 November 2025.
Valencia’s wait for a first home win of the season went on at Mestalla on Saturday, and the way it slipped away left their manager doing something few coaches ever do in public, blaming himself for a player’s sending off.
The derby with Villarreal had seemed to be heading for a draw.
Pepelu put Valencia ahead from the penalty spot in the first half, Tárrega had a second ruled out for offside by VAR, and Freeman’s header in the 69th minute pulled the visitors level.
Villarreal’s Gueye was then sent off for an elbow on José Gayà, which looked like it had tipped the balance back towards the home side.
Instead, in stoppage time, Harvey Elliott, who is on loan from Liverpool, was sent off, leaving the sides even at ten against ten for the closing minutes.
Elliott was booked for a foul on Georges Mikautadze and then shown a second yellow before play had even restarted, reportedly for something he said to the referee.
Moments later, Mikautadze punished a Valencia turnover, cut inside Pepelu and fired home a stoppage-time winner.
The manager, Javier Aguirre, did not hold back afterwards.
“Harvey Elliott’s sending off is absurd, ridiculous.”
“I’ve already let him know that,” Aguirre said, according to quotes relayed by Valencia journalist Nacho Sanchis.
He then turned the criticism on himself.
“It’s not his fault, it’s my fault for putting out the players I put out.”
“I decide who and how they play.”
“I’ll talk to him and tell him what I need to tell him.”
It is a striking response, and it comes at a delicate time for the 23-year-old.
Elliott joined Valencia on a season-long loan on 1 September, with no option to buy, hoping to find the regular football that had eluded him at Anfield, but he has yet to start a La Liga game and had played just 133 minutes across five substitute appearances before Saturday, without a goal or an assist.
Liverpool are clearly paying attention.
Their scouting chief for Spain and Portugal, Kiko Espinar, met Valencia sporting director Braulio Vázquez and Elliott himself at the training ground on Thursday to discuss his limited role.
Both clubs reportedly agree he needs more minutes, and neither plans to cut the loan short in January.
The red card makes that harder.
Elliott is set to miss next weekend’s trip to Elche and, unless the disciplinary committee extends the ban, would be available again for the visit of Real Madrid on 7 November.
Aguirre’s decision to shoulder the blame may help protect a player whose confidence is clearly fragile.
Even so, Elliott moved to Spain to prove he deserves a bigger role, and so far the loan has given him very little chance to do that.
Javier Aguirre
“La expulsión a Harvey Elliot es ABSURDA, RIDÍCULA. Ya se lo he hecho saber a él”
“No es culpa de él, es culpa mía por poner a los que pongo. Yo decido quién y como juegan. Hablaré con él y le diré lo que le tenga que decir” https://t.co/2R5eF90ZRI
— Nacho Sanchis (@sanchis14) October 24, 2026
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