Bouquets for record-breaker Sánchez

By Carlos Urrutia

Valencia CF’s two-goal hero Juan Sánchez was delighted to have broken his club’s UEFA Champions League goalscoring record in the 3-0 defeat of FC Spartak Moskva at the Mestalla stadium on Matchday Six.

Eleven goals
He previously shared the honour with former midfield player Gaizka Mendieta, with nine apiece, but after scoring twice against Spartak, now stands alone with eleven goals to his name. The first was a smart near-post header from a Miguel Angulo cross on 38 minutes, while the second, less than a minute into the second half, was a powerfully struck right-footed finish after a Mista drag-back.

Hat-trick hopes
Despite these scoring feats, Sánchez admitted he would have been happier if he had completed his hat-trick – he saw an early effort rebound off a post and a late back-heel trickle agonisingly wide. "I'm very happy tonight but I wanted to score a third goal. A hat-trick would have been fantastic but two is not bad, don’t you think?" he grinned.
 
Points record broken
Valencia also broke their Champions League points haul for the first group stage, coming top of Group B with 16, three better than their previous total. Spartak, by contrast, recorded their worst finish in the tournament, failing to win a single point. Only 200 Spartak fans made the trip to Spain, and were only cheered by the efforts of their captain and makeshift midfield player Vladimir Beschastnykh.

Squad players
Valencia fielded a team made up of second-team players, save for left-back Fabio Aurelio, who scored the third from a free-kick. Coach Rafael Benítez was naturally pleased by the way his squad players responded to the challenge.

Benítez happy
"I'm very happy with the result, but I'm also particularly pleased with the attitude of my players. They recognised that this was a good opportunity for them to make an impresión and break into the first team, and they took advantage of this. I’m very satisfied with them on what has been a good night."

Romantsev downbeat
Spartak coach Oleg Romantsev was understandably downbeat about what has proved a miserable campaign for his side. "When a team like Valencia can afford to put out two entirely different lineups of such strength and when you consider that losing just one or two players is disastrous for us, it is not a surprise that when there is little we can do."

Phone frustration
Romantsev's musings were cut short, however, as he stormed out of the press conference after being interrupted by the ringing of a mobile phone. He had been in the room for less than a minute and his frustration at his team's failure to record a single point was obvious.