Valencia ease past Belgians
Last Updated: January 1, 1970 1:00am
Valencia got their UEFA Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 defeat of Anderlecht at the Mestalla.
The Uefa Cup holders scored both goals in a dominant first period to open in style thanks to efforts from Vicente and Ruben Baraja.
They had all the early pressure, with Curro Torres shooting over and Angulo twice being denied, before Vicente could not find the striker after some good work on the left.
It was Vicente who was on hand to fire home the opener on 16 minutes, after Valencia goalkeeper Daniel Zitka spilled Angulo's low cross under pressure from Baraja.
Anderlecht were unable to put the hosts under any great pressure, with the final ball letting them down all too often in the first period.
Valencia doubled their lead on the stroke of half time, with Baraja finding space on the edge of the area with some good footwork before firing the ball low into the bottom corner of Zitka's goal.
Zitka claimed an early Vicente free kick after the restart and Francisco Rufete shot just wide, but the Belgians - inspired by Aruna Dindane - appeared a different side in the second period.
Dindane created their best chance of the game on 55 minutes, exchanging passes with Christian Wilhelmsson before threading the ball under Santiago Canizares, but Curro Torres was just able to clear ahead of Mbo Mpenza.
Angulo was denied a third for Valencia by the offside flag, while Wilhelmsson hit the side-netting as the hosts' defence held firm.
The Belgians came agonisingly close to pulling a goal back in the dying stages, with substitute Par Zetterberg seeing his free kick tipped over the bar before Dindane flashed a header wide from the corner as Valencia held on for the win.
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| Team Name | Valencia | Anderlecht |
| Goals | 2 | 0 |
| Shots on target ( Inc Goals ) | 5 | 2 |
| Shots off Target (inc woodwork) | 2 | 9 |
| Blocked Shots | 0 | 3 |
| Corners Won | 4 | 7 |
| Total Fouls Conceded | 28 | 22 |
| Offsides | 5 | 3 |
| Yellow Cards | 2 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| | | |
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Matches
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UEFA Champions League
Tue 14th Sep - Group E
Tue 14th Sep - Group F
Tue 14th Sep - Group G
Tue 14th Sep - Group H
Tables
UEFA Champions League Group A
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris St Germain | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | FC Porto | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | Dynamo Kiev | 6 | 5 |
| 4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | 1 |
UEFA Champions League Group B
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schalke | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | Olympiakos FC | 6 | 9 |
| 4 | Montpellier | 6 | 2 |
UEFA Champions League Group C
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malaga | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 6 | 8 |
| 3 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 6 | 7 |
| 4 | Anderlecht | 6 | 5 |
UEFA Champions League Group D
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 14 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 6 | 11 |
| 3 | Ajax | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 6 | 3 |
UEFA Champions League Group E
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | FC Nordsjaelland | 6 | 1 |
UEFA Champions League Group F
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 13 |
| 2 | Valencia | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | BATE Borisov | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | Lille | 6 | 3 |
UEFA Champions League Group G
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 6 | 13 |
| 2 | Celtic | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | Benfica | 6 | 8 |
| 4 | Spartak Moscow | 6 | 3 |
UEFA Champions League Group H
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | Galatasaray | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | CFR Cluj-Napoca | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | Braga | 6 | 3 |
Ruben Baraja
Vicente
