Valencia register first home win
– Valencia cranked up the pressure on Manchester United in Champions League Group H by beating Young Boys 3-1 last night, as the Spanish side registered their first home win of the season.
Carlos Soler, the talented 21-year-old, teed up two Santi Mina strikes in the first half before finding the net himself to seal a rare win for a team whose season has so far been ravaged by draws.
Young Boys levelled when Roger Assale drove into the corner but parity lasted only five minutes, as Mina restored Valencia’s lead towards the end of the first half.
Any faint hopes of a Swiss comeback were dashed when Sekou Sanogo was sent off with
Valencia
13 minutes remaining for a wild challenge on Francis Coquelin.
It was the culmination of a feisty encounter that featured five yellow cards in the first half alone, a record in this year’s tournament.
For Valencia, victory was all-important to their hopes of reaching the Champions League knock-out stage as they move one point above Manchester United, who were to play Juventus in Turin later last night.
That trip awaits Valencia next but they will have the advantage of hosting Jose Mourinho’s side at the Mestalla in the final round of the group stage, if they can stay in touch that long.
After clinching fourth place in La Liga last season, victories and goals have both been hard to come by for Valencia this term.
They sit 15th in the league, with eight draws from 11 games, while in Europe, they had managed just one goal from 42 shots coming into this match.
This was the first time they had scored three goals in a game since March.
Young Boys, however, were generous in defence, while Soler and Mina showed the sort of ruthlessness up front that has been so lacking in recent weeks.
The first goal came after 14 minutes as the lively Rodrigo Moreno picked out Soler’s darting run in behind. Soler did brilliantly to chip the goalkeeper but there was a hint of fortune in the ball rebounding back off the far post and landing perfectly for Mina to bundle home. –