Crowd favourite Paulista leads the way for ball recovery

Gabriel Paulista had  one of his best performances in a Valencia CF shirt in the team's game against FC Barcelona, although it could have been even sweeter for the Brazilian had a second half goal not been ruled out by the referee.

The central defender was in imposing form with perfect positioning and decisive actions at the back, but a contentious foul was given against him as he turned in the ball for what he thought would go down as his first goal for the club.

One thing that was confirmed, however, was the admiration of the fans at Mestalla for Paulista, and he received rousing cheers from the crowd for every vital intervention made.

His fighting spirit is illustrated by the 33 ball recoveries he has made in LaLiga so far this season, making him the VCF player with the most such actions and putting him into the Top 6 in the division.

Before he tries to add to that tally, Valencia CF play in the Copa del Rey this Wednesday.

"The Copa del Rey is a very nice trophy for the club, for us and for our careers," he told VCF Media. "This is going to be a very difficult game because Cultural Leonesa knocked out Atletico Madrid, but we're going to try to be in the next round."