Valencia were given a guard of honour by Real Sociedad in their first game back at home after winning last season's Copa del Rey final, and that meant an awkward moment for losing goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.
Back in May Valencia were the surprise victors over Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey, with Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo scoring in a 2-1 win.
Cillessen actually played the full 90 minutes for Ernesto Valverde's losers on the day and so his part in the guard of honour on Saturday led to his rather awkward smile.
The Dutchman played just one league game all of last season and was very much just the Copa del Rey keeper, appearing in seven matches.
Advert
He started in the final but was on the losing end as Barca went from chasing a treble to winning 'just' the league in a matter of weeks, despite Messi's consolation in the final.
The lack of football led to the former Ajax keeper requesting a move away from the Catalan giants, and he signed for Valencia for €35 million in the summer.
In a separate deal, done on the same day, former Valencia number one Neto moved in the opposite direction to Cillessen for €26 million, to become the champions backup goalie. But the first weekend of the season wasn't successful for either men or their new clubs.
Advert
Just days before the season started Barca announced Neto was injured for up to eight weeks and the bad news continued for Valverde's men as they lost 1-0 to Atletico Bilbao, thanks to Aritz Aduriz's brilliant late strike.
Things were only slightly better for Cillessen and co at the Mestalla. It took until nearly an hour after the guard of honor for the deadlock to be broken, with Gameiro putting the home side ahead.
It looked like Los Ches would pick up their first three points of the season when they were awarded a penalty but Gameiro failed to convert it.
Advert
To make matters worse Francis Coquelin was sent off 10 minutes into injury time and Mikel Oyarzabal converted the late spot kick past the new keeper.
At least Cillessen got a guard of honour for losing a final to cheer him up.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: valencia, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Barcelona, Real Sociedad, Copa del Rey, Spain, Spanish football, La Liga