avier 'Chicharito' Hernandez made the difference as United claimed only a second away win over Spanish opposition in the club's history.
The Mexican striker needed just eight minutes to make his mark in the Mestalla; after coming off the bench, and hitting a post with his first effort, he then drilled home a low left-footed shot from the penalty spot to secure a famous victory. His goal and the resulting 1-0 win sends United top of Group C on four points, alongside Rangers, with back-to-back games against Turkish champions Bursaspor next in line.
Victory in Valencia was no mean feat. Los Che currently top La Liga, ahead of Spanish football's traditional giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, and went into the game boasting an 11-game unbeaten home run in European competition. What’s more, the Reds achieved the win without Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, all of whom missed the flight to Spain through injury. Rio Ferdinand returned for his third start of the season, however, and showed no sign of the back and knee injuries that have forced him to miss 61 of United's last 103 fixtures. His sliding interception on 71 minutes was vital, just as Valencia were showing signs of moving in for the kill.
Despite an appalling record in Spain – just one win in 18 previous attempts – the Reds began with plenty of attacking intent. Indeed, for long periods in the first half Sir Alex’s men appeared to employ a 4-2-4 formation, with Ji-sung Park and Anderson pushed up on the Valencia defenders and Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick sitting deep. Man-of-the-moment Dimitar Berbatov
fired off the game’s first shot on four minutes, capping a slaloming run with a 25-yard strike that passed just the wrong side of the woodwork.
Valencia, shorn in the summer of striking stars David Villa (Barcelona) and Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City), and without the creative spark of David Silva (Manchester City) in midfield, also played with plenty of ambition. Alejandro Dominguez and Roberto Soldado linked well and Pablo Hernandez proved a handful on the right flank. Still, it took the home side 17 minutes to truly threaten. And they should have taken the lead. Soldado hadn’t banked on Edwin van der Sar misjudging the flight of a Dominguez cross, however, and when the ball reached the no.9, in acres of space and with an open goal to aim at, it merely hit his head and looped over the bar.
The hosts' next real chance came when Hernandez motored past Evra just after the half-hour mark and curled a sumptuous cross between Edwin van der Sar and the Reds’ back four. None of his team-mates anticipated such a teasing delivery, though, and United, danger averted, breathed a sigh of relief.
It was the start of a period of sustained possession for the home side, who grew in confidence as the half wore on. United, on the other hand, seemed to shrink, as ball retention rates dropped and the foul count rose. The impressive French left-back Jeremy Mathieu stung van der Sar’s palms just before the break with a volley but the effort wouldn’t have counted; referee Viktor Kassai had already blown for a foul.
Pablo Hernandez had the home supporters out of their seats again inside fourminutes of the restart, flashing a shot across goal. The 25-year-old remained Valencia’s most potent threat until Manuel Fernandes came off the bench. At the other end, Sir Alex’s men threatened to break quickly through Carrick and Anderson but Mathieu was alert to the danger and extended a leg long enough to toe the ball clear of the Brazilian. When Fletcher released Berbatov, and the Bulgarian surged into the box and forced a fine save from Cesar Sanchez, it was clear United still had designs on the three points.
As a spectacle, the game improved wholesale. Carrick fired over from distance and Park just failed to reach a curling Nani cross before the Portuguese was involved in his own penalty area, sliding in superbly to block a Pablo Hernandez shot. Stretched more than it had been at any other point in the evening, the match opened up and the volume inside the Mestalla increased.
An intricate passing move on the edge of the box between Fletcher and Park almost paid off, while Patrice Evra ended a forward run with a shot at goal. Edwin van der Sar did well to push away Fernandes’ long-range shot, and from the resulting corner the ball flashed across the six-yard box without anybody getting a touch. The home side went even closer when Soldado was inches away from connecting with substitute Aritz Aduriz’s cross, while at the other end Javier Hernandez came oh-so-close when he slid in at the far post and diverted his shot onto the woodwork.
Never mind. Sixty seconds later, Hernandez collected a square pass from Macheda, took one touch to control and then fired home an unstoppable winner.
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