Valencia 2 - Valladolid 0

Valencia: Cañizares; Garrido, Marchena, Pellegrino, Carboni; Albelda, Baraja (De los Santos 70'); Angulo, Mista (Carew 75'), Kily González; Juan Sánchez (Fabio Aurelio 84'). 4-2-3-1.
Valladolid: Bizzarri; Torres Gómez, Mustafá, Peña, Marcos; Colsa, Mario (Ricchetti 70'); Fernando Sales, Sousa (Aganzo 46'), Oscar Sánchez; Pachón. 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Valencia: Garrido, Marchena, Carboni, Angulo, Mista, Kily González, Juan Sánchez for Curro Torres, Ayala, Fabio Aurelio, Rufete, Aimar, Vicente, Carew / Valladolid: Sousa for Olivera.

Goals:
1-0. 09. Mista. First time volley after Sánchez headed on Angulo cross.
2-0. 30. Mista. Far post header after cross from right wing by Garrido.

Valencia closed up on the leaders with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Valladolid. With Aimar and Rufete out for a month or so with injuries and a Champions League tie against Ajax due midweek, Rafa Benítez made seven changes to his line up including all of his front four players. One of the men he drafted in was Mista, who had been complaining recently about the lack of opportunities he had been given. The injury to Aimar though means he now has a chance to prove himself, and he couldn't have got off to a better start, scoring a spectacular goal with a first time shot in the ninth minute after Juan Sánchez headed on Angulo's cross.

For the rest of the first half it was all Valencia, their opponents failing to show the sort of form which had seen them do well in the Mestalla stadium in the recent past. Mista almost scored again when he won the ball off a slow Mustafá, and eventually did beat an otherwise excellent Bizzarri, rising above a defender who was a foot taller than him to head Garrido's cross down into the net.

The pressure continued for the opening minutes of the second half, and both Sánchez and Garrido shot wide. Moré had brought on Aganzo to join Pachón at half time though, and the visitors gradually started to respond. Aganzo did get the ball in the net midway through the half after Pachón chested it down into his path, but referee Carmona Méndez disallowed it for a dubious offside. Then with a couple of minutes to go Fernando Sales fell under Carboni's challenge in the penalty area, and Carmona made up for his earlier mistake awarding a penalty. The Valencia players protested that Sales had dived, but they didn't have to worry as Cañizares lunged to his left to stop Colsa's kick.

There was bad news though for the two sides on the injury front, Mario and Kily González both being carried out on stretchers late in the second half. Kily's last minute injury in particular looked serious, and it later transpired that he had torn ankle ligaments and is likely to be out for three months or so. Otherwise Valencia couldn't complain, and the victory means they hold on to third place. However with all of the other teams in the top eight failing to win, they are now back to within two points of the top.