Elche vs Alavés: Martínez Valero Memories as Two Top-Flight Meetings Split Victories
Elche vs Alavés head-to-head at Martínez Valero: the two LaLiga encounters between the clubs have produced one win apiece, with Alavés victorious in 2022 and Elche responding in 2023.
Elche vs Alavés at Martínez Valero: Two Meetings, Two Outcomes
In the only two Primera División fixtures played between Elche and Deportivo Alavés at Elche’s Martínez Valero stadium, the clubs have shared the spoils with one win each.
Those matches — staged across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns — carry contrasting narratives that still shape how both clubs and supporters recall their recent top-flight encounters.
Both results mattered beyond the three points on the day, shaping relegation battles and season finales for the teams involved.
The pair of matches provides the most complete sample available for analyzing how each side has fared on this particular ground in modern LaLiga play.
May 11, 2022: Alavés’ Crucial 0-2 Victory
The first of the two top-flight meetings at Martínez Valero arrived late in the 2021-22 season on May 11, when Alavés recorded a 2-0 win.
For Alavés the victory proved decisive, offering what the club described as virtual safety in the relegation fight after goals from Joselu and Rioja.
The result plunged Elche into a precarious situation with two matches remaining, leaving the club dependent on others to secure survival.
Although that defeat left Elche in a critical spot, the team ultimately managed to maintain its top-flight status by the end of the season.
2022-23 Rematch: Elche’s 3-1 Comeback
A year later, in the 2022-23 season, Elche returned to Martínez Valero and reversed the previous outcome by beating Alavés 3-1.
Elche conceded first when Joselu struck again, but the hosts mounted a second-half comeback led by Pere Milla, who netted a brace, and a goal from Fidel Chaves.
The turnaround highlighted Elche’s resilience and capacity to change the game after the interval, with the decisive goals all arriving in the second half.
The match offered a corrective chapter for Elche supporters who had watched the club suffer the narrow defeat the year before.
Managers and Starting XIs at the Martínez Valero Meetings
On the day Elche secured the 3-1 win, Francisco Rodríguez named Edgar Badía in goal and a defensive line that included Palacios, Gonzalo Verdú (with Diego González noted in parentheses), Bigas and Mojica.
His midfield relied on Tete Morente (Guti), Mascarell and Gumbau, while the attack featured Fidel, Pere Milla (Guido Carrillo) and Lucas Boyé (Josan).
Alavés manager José Luis Mendilibar countered with Pacheco between the sticks and a backline featuring Martín (Tenaglia), Laguardia, Lejeune and Duarte.
His midfield and forward options included Jason (Pere Pons), Pina, Escalante (Guidetti), Rioja, Miguel (Edgar) and Joselu (Manu Vallejo), indicating a selection that blended experience and attacking intent.
Those selections underline how both clubs approached the tie with a balance of defensive structure and forward options, and how substitutions played a role in match dynamics.
The named players — and the personnel decisions made by the two coaches — were central to how the two matches unfolded at Martínez Valero.
Key Players and Moments That Defined the Two Matches
Joselu emerges as a recurrent figure across the Martínez Valero fixtures, opening the scoring in both meetings and exerting influence for Alavés in each outing.
His goals bookend the two contests and demonstrate his threat in the penalty area when the Basque side visited Elche.
Pere Milla stands out for Elche’s win, producing a two-goal second-half performance that swung the game firmly in the hosts’ favor.
Fidel Chaves’ late contribution completed the comeback and provided a decisive finishing touch to a match that began with Alavés in the ascendancy.
Beyond individual strikes, both matches featured moments that affected league trajectories: Alavés’ 2022 victory helped secure survival momentum, while Elche’s response a year later underscored the club’s capacity to recover and claim a statement win at home.
Those turning points remain part of the clubs’ shared recent history at Martínez Valero.
Martínez Valero’s Wider History with Alavés
The Martínez Valero has been the stage for other notable moments involving Alavés, most memorably the club’s promotion to the top flight in the 2004-05 season.
On that occasion Alavés left the ground with a 2-1 win, a result that remains a fond historical memory for the Basque club at this Alicante venue.
That promotion victory adds an extra layer to Alavés’ relationship with Martínez Valero, giving the recent top-flight meetings an echo of past significance.
For Elche, hosting such decisive fixtures at home reinforces the stadium’s status as a venue where important narrative turns have occurred for both visiting and home teams.
Lessons for Future Meetings Between Elche and Alavés
Taken together, the two Primera División meetings at Martínez Valero suggest that neither side holds a sustained advantage on this ground.
Each club has proven capable of winning decisively, with momentum swings and in-game adjustments determining the outcome.
For coaches, the two results underline the value of tactical flexibility and timely substitutions, while for players they highlight how individual moments — a first-period goal or a late equalizer — can tilt a fixture’s dynamic.
Any future top-flight encounter at Martínez Valero will carry the psychological subtext of these recent meetings, with both sets of supporters mindful of the split record.
Both matches also emphasize the broader stakes often attached to fixtures late in the season, where points can carry consequences for relegation or survival.
As such, historical context at Martínez Valero will remain part of the narrative for Elche vs Alavés whenever the clubs next meet in LaLiga.
The two matches at Martínez Valero provide a compact but telling chapter in the Elche–Alavés rivalry, showing how quickly fortunes can shift and how venue history can influence the memory of a fixture.
