Valencia 6 - Basel 2

Valencia: Cañizares; Curro Torres, Ayala, Pellegrino, Carboni; Albelda, Baraja (Mista 46'); Angulo, Aimar (Juan Sánchez 70'), Vicente (Garrido 61'); Carew. 4-2-3-1.
Basel: Zuberbuhler; Haas, Quennoz (Ergic 63'), Murat Yakin, Atouba; Barberis, Cantaluppi, Esposito (Duruz 80'); Hakan Yakin; Rossi, Giménez (Varela 46'). 4-3-1-2.

Goals:
1-0. 10. Carew. Controlled Aimar through ball and placed shot wide of keeper.
2-0. 12. Carew. Header down into bottom corner from Vicente cross.
3-0. 17. Fabio Aurelio. Ran on to Carew pass to shoot low across keeper.
4-0. 28. Baraja. Found gap in defence to head Vicente's cross past keeper.
4-1. 46. Rossi. Following up after Cañizares blocked a shot from Varela.
5-1. 58. Aimar. on the follow up after keeper failed to hold on to Carew shot.
6-1. 60. Mista. Beat keeper from close up after good work from Aimar and Carew.
6-2. 89. Hakan Yakin. Caught Cañizares off guard with a long, lifted shot.

Once again Spanish sides are top of the pile in Europe, with ten victories and a draw in the twelve league matches to date. Valencia followed up Real Madrid's six goals last week with a "set" of their own, humiliating a Swiss side who had been the revelation of their group in their first two games. After much deliberation Benítez gave the striker's shirt to Carew, and the Norwegian striker paid him back with one of his best performances since joining the club, scoring twice and having a hand in three more goals.

He was ably abetted though by Pablo "the Clown" Aimar, who produced a precision pass in the tenth minute to set the big striker up for the first goal. Vicente laid on a second for him two minutes later, the Swiss defence going AWOL allowing him to place a header unmarked down past "Zubi". And then Carew turned provider, slotting through a pass for Fabio Aurelio to run on and drive a low shot across the keeper.

Having only let in one goal in their first two games, the Swiss found themselves three down in a quarter of an hour, and Baraja headed goal number four from Vicente's cross on the half hour mark. It could have been even more before the break, with Carew hitting the post and Aimar heading just over, but just after the restart Rossi actually got one back, following up after Cañizares could only push out a shot from half time substitute Varela.

Fifteen minutes later though a brilliant Aimar scored another after Carew's shot was saved, and then combined with Carew two minutes after that to set up Mista. Hakan Yakin got a second consolation goal for Christian Gross's side in the last minute, but by then the home fans were already in the streets celebrating their team's third win in a row in the competition. With nine points they are already five ahead of Liverpool and Basel, and with Spartak Moscow without a point it seems that the English and Swiss sides will be fighting for second place.