Champions League hopefuls Valencia's poor home form continued as they drew 1-1 with local rivals Levante on Sunday and with the team jeered off the pitch, the pressure is growing on coach Unai Emery.
Having controlled the opening stages, Valencia went ahead from a neatly-worked move which was finished off by Jonas Goncalves.
But Levante, whose resilience is one of the factors for their success this season, drew level after the break with Valdo Lopes heading down a cross for Arouna Kone to fire home.
Valencia pushed forward in search of the three points, but Jonas and Aritz Aduriz wasted good chances as did substitute Pablo Piatti late on, and Levante hung on for the draw to stay in fifth place.
It means that Valencia have just one victory at home since Christmas and have gone from having a comfortable cushion in third place to being just a point above fourth-placed Malaga.
"We were on top in terms of openings, chances and possession but we lacked a finishing touch to demonstrate the superiority that we had," said Emery, who is believed to have met club president Manuel Llorente after the match.
"At the moment it is very important that we keep the errors to a minimum as the results do not correspond to how well we are playing.
"The draw was poor and we are not happy. The fans have protested at the end but during the game they have supported us. I'm not worried about the possibility of losing the Champions League place but I do see the need to make changes and look for solutions."
Europa League quarter-finalists Atletico Madrid came out 3-0 winners in their derby with Getafe and Real Sociedad had a commanding 4-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, while Villarreal and Espanyol drew 0-0.
At the top of the table, Real Madrid remain six points clear after they hammered Osasuna 5-1 on Saturday and Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0.
Cristiano Ronaldo took his league tally to 37 goals with a brace and Gonzalo Higuain also struck twice, bringing up his 100th goal for the club, while Karim Benzema got the other.
Real also notched up their 100th goal in the league this season.
Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, with his 36th league goal of the campaign, from the penalty spot got the goals for Barcelona as they kept up the pressure in second place.
Source: AFP
