In this past La Liga showdown between Valencia and UD Almeria, the game was characterized by an early display of dominance by Valencia, aggressive play packed with an abundance of fouls and yellow cards, and a surprising lack of corner kicks by the home side. Ultimately Valencia's first-half scoring proved decisive as they edged UD Almeria 2-1.

The two goal lead of Valencia was established early in the first half with the first goal at 13:34 and the second at 22:51, showing an effective strike force that was able to crack open an Almeria defense yet to find their feet. This gave Valencia a comfortable pad to weather the inevitable Almeria's comeback attempt in the second half. Almeria's single goal at 49:25 did provide an interesting dynamic, it was however not enough to turn the tide of the match.

A telling point to note was the number of fouls committed. Valencia was involved in 17 fouls while Almeria was implicated in 16, indicating a hard-fought match on both sides. The competitiveness of the match was further evidenced by a total of 9 yellow cards: Valencia incurred 4 and Almeria received 5. The concentration of these cards in the second half (7 out of 9) also speaks to the increasing sense of urgency and desperation as both teams sought to control the match.

100% of the corners in the match were taken by Almeria, a count of 6 to Valencia's none. This suggests that Almeria spent a significant amount of time attacking or at least pushing into Valencia's half, which aligns with their efforts to come back from the 2 goal deficit. However, Valencia's defensive tactics effectively thwarted Almeria's corner kick advantage, nullifying this threat.

Despite committing fewer fouls, Almeria were flagged offside less frequently than Valencia. Valencia was caught in the offside trap twice, while Almeria was only trapped once - hinting at a better tactical displine in the forward line for Almeria. Unfortunately, their efforts didn't yield an equalizing goal.

In conclusion, even though Almeria had a strong offensive presence and a fewer offside calls, Valencia's early goals and solid defending particularly in set-piece situations gave them the edge to secure the victory on the day. This should serve as a learning experience for both teams in terms of balancing aggression with discipline, and the importance of early pressure in dictating the pace and outcome of the game.

The most significant factor in this game was clearly Valencia's early blitz that left Almeria playing catch-up for the remainder of the match. Tracking such early lead performance and prediction might be crucial in future bets.

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