Mestalla turns on Lim, Corberán and the squad during Kiat Lim's first league appearance

Mestalla experienced one of its most hostile nights in memory on Sunday. Valencia fans turned the league match against Barcelona into a giant loudspeaker aimed at everything surrounding the club: the directors' box, the bench and the players themselves. The unexpected appearance of Kiat Lim, son of majority shareholder Peter Lim, at his first league match in the box after a year and a half as president, lit a fuse that was already burning because of the team's disastrous form and a transfer window that closed without serious reinforcements.

• Kiat Lim attended his first league match in the Mestalla directors' box almost 18 months after becoming president, arriving hidden in the team bus.
• Fans chanted for the resignation of Corberán, the board and Peter Lim from the sixth minute after Lamine Yamal's goal.
• Around 2,000 supporters from the animation stand entered the stadium in the 19th minute after protesting outside and amplified the anger.
• After the heavy defeat, fans shouted 'you're not leaving' at the directors' box and the players, with a group continuing the protest in the street.

Kiat Lim makes his Mestalla league debut hidden in the Valencia team bus

Kiat Lim's decision to attend the Barcelona match was not announced in advance. His presence became known on the morning of the game and was enough for the message 'today is the day' to spread like wildfire on social media. The most striking detail was his arrival at the stadium: he travelled inside the team bus alongside football CEO Ron Gourlay and managing director Javier Solís. Once in the directors' box, he made no attempt to hide and was seen joking with Barcelona president Joan Laporta before kick-off.

Animation stand leads a protest that spreads across Mestalla

The mobilisation began before anyone knew Peter Lim's son would attend. Around 2,000 fans from the animation stand had decided to remain outside the stadium before the match and entered in the 19th minute, the moment the protest took on a whole new dimension. From then on, Mestalla roared with chants aimed in every direction: at the coach ('Carlos, go now', 'Corberán, resign'), at the ownership ('Lim, scoundrel, out of Mestalla', 'Peter, go now') and at the squad ('there is no club left, only the shirt remains, the mercenaries have to go').

Lamine Yamal's goal in the sixth minute had already triggered the first boos, but it was after the animation section entered the ground that most of the stadium joined the chants. Valencia's weakness against Barcelona added fuel to a fanbase that no longer separates sporting performance from institutional management.

Corberán singled out as complicit in Valencia's decline

Tomorrow is a day off, where are the signings

Carlos Corberán faced growing hostility throughout the match. Every time he stepped near his technical area, the crowd aimed fresh boos at him. Even the hydration breaks were used to attack him. The support base considers the coach complicit in what they describe as miserable sporting management, accusing him of backing a transfer window that ended without the required arrivals, with failed attempts to sign a centre-back and a striker on deadline day. The start of the season, with just one point from four games, has exhausted all patience.

Threats towards the directors' box and street protests after full-time

The final whistle after the resounding defeat pushed the tension to its peak. A deafening chorus of fury rained down from the stands towards the directors' box and the players, with shouts of 'you're not leaving'. Some fans had already been filtering out of their seats before the end, but a significant group stayed behind to turn the exit from the stadium into an extension of the protest, this time on the streets. The image Mestalla left behind was one of total rupture between Valencia's social mass and the project led by Peter Lim and his son.