Nottingham Forest midfielder Joao Carvalho enjoyed his best performance for Almeria last night during a 0-0 draw with Girona.
The Portuguese performer played the full 90 minutes for his temporary club in a quite extraordinary contest.
Girona had no fewer than three players sent off during the goalless draw.
Jonas Ramalho was given his marching orders after 28 minutes, with Sebastian Cristoforo following in the 78th minute and Monchu in the 82nd.
Almeria couldn’t breach the Girona rearguard, although that was in no fault of Carvalho who performed extremely well on the night.
The 23-year-old struck the woodwork and also created five chances for his teammates to break the deadlock.
Carvalho was at his dazzling best, finishing the match with a 92% pass success ratio, completing 66 accurate passes.
The former Portugal under-21 international has played in his typical number 10 role and on the left flank for his new club.
He has registered one assist for his new club and much like his time at Forest, is still striving for some consistency.
The difference at Almeria will probably be that he will be handed the chance to play regularly and gain some much-needed form.
Many supporters would still relish the chance to see Carvalho involved in Chris Hughton’s matchday squad.
Enigma
Plenty feel that he was badly underused during his two seasons at the club, although others feel he just didn’t make the grade.
Carvalho was often judged on his £13.2 million valuation and that does seem somewhat unfair.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a pretty decent first season and was mesmerising at times under Aitor Karanka’s management.
Plenty will hope he can get into some form and possibly earn himself a reprieve at the City Ground.
Last night’s performance showed that he is getting into his stride and that should bode very well for Almeria – and possibly for Forest.