Piccini returns after almost 1 year out

Two days shy of a full calendar year on the sidelines, Cristiano Piccini was finally able to feature in a game for Valencia CF. A serious knee injury suffered on August 24th, 2019, had meant that he had not enjoyed minutes since Matchday 2 of the 2019/20 LaLiga season.

The Italian came on in the second half of the game against CD Castellón at the Antonio Puchades. An emotional moment for him capped off a long road back to fitness, which included his reincorporation into the group at the end of last season.

Piccini was solid in defence and would bring the ball out from the back on several occasions. He took part in the move on the counterattack which resulted in the only goal of the match.