Valencia edged out a spirited Gent side to beat the Belgians 2-1 at the Mestalla and take a big step toward the last 16 of the Champions League in the process.
Sofiane Feghouli's 15th-minute opener was the difference between both outfits for much of the first half, but a stunning equaliser from Thomas Foket earned parity at the break.
Gent dominated possession for large spells of the second half, but an own goal from the unfortunate Stefan Mitrovic spared los Che's blushes.
The Primera Division side remain second in Group H, but hold a five-point cushion over third-placed Gent in the race to reach the knockout stages with three games left.
Below, relive the drama with our live commentary.
So, the Champions League is back. Miss it? Me too. My withdrawal symptoms made Ewan McGregor's in Trainspotting look like a picnic with Niall Horan and Cliff Richard. We were broken; so broken that we needed a fix. But it's back; the cold sweats and nausea replaced by euphoria. Pure euphoria. I'm Shane and I'll be taking you through all of the action at the Mestalla as Valencia host Belgian minnows Gent. Let's go.
This commentary is probably already a little bit too heroin heavy - not to mention this is Group H! - so let's take it down a notch and feast on some team news, shall we?
VALENCIA XI: Domenech; Cancelo, Santos, Mustafi, Gaya; Feghouli, Parejo, Fuego, Gomes; Alcacer, Mina
GENT XI: Sels; S Mitrovic, Asare, L. Nielsen, Matton; Renato Neto, Kums, Saief, Foket; Milicevic, Depoitre
VALENCIA SUBS: Yoel, Orban, Barragan, Danilo, Perez, Piatti, Rodrigo
GENT SUBS: Vandenbuscsche, Rafinha, E. Johansson, Raman, Simon, Pederson, Poletanovic
Let's start with the Spaniards and there's no Alvaro Negredo up top, with the former Man City man rested tonight. Instead, Alcacer spearheads a three-pronged attack, with Santi Mina and Sofiane Feghouli either side of him. In midfield, we find Andre Gomes, Javi Fuego and Dani Parejo, who skippers them tonight. Joao Cancelo, Santos, Mustafi and Gaya line up along the back four, in front of third-choice goalkeeper Jaume Doménech. That's your lot.
On to our Belgian friends now and Hein Vanhaezebrouck (a surname I can pronoucne in real life) has fielded a strong team. Well, about as strong a team as Gent can name. Laurent Depoitre is the spearhead, with the likes of Danijel Milicevic and Thomas Matton in support. They're no mugs and Valencia will have to be very, very wary of them tonight. Now let's back to the heroin references? Or not.
Now let's back to the heroin references? Or not. Instead, link my arm as we mosey on down memory lane and review both sides' Champions League stories so far.
Starting with Valencia, Nuno's men sit second in the group on three points, having lost one and won one. They kicked off their campaign with a 3-2 defeat by Zenit St Petersburg here at the Mestalla. A first-half double from Hulk helped the Russians into a 2-0 half-time lead, but goals from Joao Cancelo and Andre Gomes pegged back Zenit with 17 minutes to play. Only one team was going to win from there, right? Wrong. The visitors scored three minutes later through Axel Witsel.
Thankfully for them, their next outing had far less by way of drama. In fact, it was a simple but effective 1-0, courtesy of a 42nd-minute winner from Sofiane Feghouli. That win lifted them up to second, two points ahead of the Belgians and Lyon, three behind Zenit. Victory Lyon away to zenit, it is not inconceivable that Nuno's men could be five points clear in the race for a last-16 berth. But first they must beat Gent and, well, easier said than done perhaps.
Vanhaezebrouck's men haven't been bad. Okay so they won't win the competition, or the Europa League if they drop into it, but they can take points off the big boys - and they have the point to prove it. On matchday one, they held Lyon to a 1-1 draw in Belgium. Not bad, right? Nope. Not bad at all. Two weeks later, they lost 2-1 in Zenit, with Thomas Matton cancelling out Artem Dzyuba's first-half opener for the hosts, before Oleg Shatov struck the winner with 23 minutes to go.
Indeed, Gent have certainly done enough so far to suggest that this won't be easy for Valencia. That being said, Valencia certainly should have enough.
Pizza. Fizzy drinks. Sandwiches on WHITE bread. Is Rick Waller head of nutrition at Valencia these days? They need Jamie Oliver. Like, now.
VCF JUVENIL | Cordialidad y deportividad con el @KAAGent tras el partido de la @UEFAYouthLeague ¡Enormes!
https://t.co/JaLGqvTUGn
— Valencia CF (@valenciacf) October 20, 2015
PREDICTION! It's time to make a prediction, folks. I'm on a comfortable 3-0 win. Gent will be no pushovers....initially, but in the end, Valencia will wear them down and should score a few. Feel free to lodge your own prediction for a chance to win a pre-match meal with Valencia - or, in other words, an all you can eat buffet. May not be a real competition.
Let's see what the good people of Twitter are saying as we come into the final furlong of pre-match coverage.
This is why I'm too afraid to learn another language.
Valencia is playin a team with the Spur logo.
Ribs and wings platter Spur. Happy bday singing Spur.
— 6pack Shakur (@nigel_nyUsher) October 20, 2015
Here lies the problem of finding Gent-related material on Twitter, folks, with Gent meaning two different things. We should, at this point, note that it's pronounced 'gehnt'.
Finding this gent on my phone was a surprise...@thomasfoster_ pic.twitter.com/EHXMoIOQjZ
— Josh Boyd (@Josh_Boydie) October 20, 2015
Anywho, back to relevance and Antonio reckons Gent will score tonight. He could be right. As we noted, los Che could struggle against this mob.
Valencia 3-1 Gent
— Antonio MCF⚽ (@antoniomcf_) October 20, 2015
This one could have legs, my friends.
@valenciacf 3a0 goles de mina paco Alcacer cancelo
— VMS (@vmsvcf) October 20, 2015
I can't promise you goals, or even lots of entertainment, but I can promise you a football match; one that gets underway in five minutes. Stay tuned.
KICKOFF: And we're off, my friends. Plenty of Gent fans, and they're making plenty of noise despite being sat way up in the nosebleeds. Let's go.
First free kick of the game as Feghouli draws a foul from Mitrovic. The Belgians have FIVE at the back, it seems. Five. They're not planning much attack it seems.
Good defending from Mustafi. We said the visitors wouldn't attack much, they forge a very decent counter-attack here as Milicevic brings it forward on the right-hand side, but the Valencia centre-half is across well to snuff out the danger.
SHOT! Poor defending from Foket as his clearance goes straight to Santi Mina, who plays in Andre Gomes, but the Portuguese, outside the box, has an effort and it's well, well, well wide.
Eight minutes in and we've certainly seen enough of Gent to know that they're justifying our pre-match claims. We said it could be tricky initially and it's proven to be just that for Valencia.
SHOT! Santi Mina has started really well, and he's gone so close here as he drills just over the bar from outside the box.
CHANCE! Valencia starting to find space in the final third now as Feghouli plays in Santi Mina down the left, and the youngster is through on goal but his one-on-one is saved by Sels. Lord knows where Foket was there. Doesn't look like he wants to track back.
SHOT! It's all Valencia here lads, and Alcacer does brilliantly well to work a yard of space on the edge of the box before stabbing just wide. It took a deflection, so we have a corner
GOAL! Valencia 1-0 Gent (Fehouli)
It was coming, my friends. Moments earlier, Mustafi missed a fine chance from a corner. This time, it's a briliant ball into the six-yard box from Cancelo, and it's met by the Algerian who executes a fantastic flick to deceive Sels and it's 1-0. It was a peach of a ball from Mr Cancelo, it really was.
Incidentally, Zenit are one-up at home to Lyon, so second-placed Valencia, as it stands, are five points clear of third place. They'll surely progress into the last 16 if it stays like that.
BOOKING: Dani Parejo goes into the book for a late challenge on Sven Kums. Leave it!
Gent, to their credit, aren't out of this. They've fizzed some wickedly dangerous balls into the Valencia box so far and the Belgians will be disappointed, but not overly disappointed.
BOOKING: Nana Asare goes into the book for fouling Feghouli right on the achilles. Sore one that. I know this because you could hear Feghouli's scream from Dublin.
WHAT A SAVE! This is brilliant from Mat Sels, who pulls off a fine double save. First, he keeps out Mina's effort from outside the box, pushing it to the feet of Alcacer who looked certain to smash home the rebound, but Sels is up quickly to deny the Spaniard from point-blank range. Take a bow pal.
SHOT! The excellently-named Renato Neto has Gent's first meaningful effort, as he takes aim from outside the box but Domenech is equal to it.
Truly brilliant piece of defending from Lasse Nielsen here. Alcacer looked certain to tap home from close range following a brilliant ball from Gomes, but Nielsen, out of nowhere, pulls off a fine last-ditch block to thwart the Valencia striker.
We've reached the half-hour mark and Feghouli's 15th-minute opener still the difference between both sides. It's been a 30 minutes dominated by the hosts, but you can see why Gent have only conceded twice in this campaign because they've got an excellent keeper, and a few very decent defenders.
If Alcacer doesn't score tonight I'd be amazed. He's had a lot of very decent chances. His movement is troubling for the visitors' defence.
Nine minutes until the break and this is a promising little spell from Gent now. I mean, they have it all to do if they are to nick an equaliser before the break, but there's certainly a goal in this for them.
GOAL! Valencia 1-1 Gent (Foket)
We said there was a goal in this for Gent and what a fabulous goal it was for Foket and the Gent fans, way up in the nosebleeds, are delerious. Thomas Foket gets in behind Jose Gaya, who tried to execute an overhead kick instead of a simple headed clearance. Foket took the ball down brilliantly, before smashing past Domenech into the top corner. Take a bow. A big one.
Gent finishing this half on top. They fancy a second before the break you know!
HALF TIME: Valencia 1-1 Gent
Very, very decent half, with some very, very decent goals. Sofiane Feghouli opened the scoring with an excellent flick to convert Joao Cancelo's equally-excellent cross into the six-yard box. Matt Sels pulled off a few world-class saves to keep Gent in it, and they proved key as Thomas Fuket smashed home an equaliser with five minutes left. It was a truly superb finish, and from a truly tough angle.
RESTART! Right, we're back in action. Gent fans should be hugely encouraged after that first half. Okay they rode their luck somewhat, with Matt Sels making a host of excellent saves, but they also did enough at the other end to suggest that a victory could be on the cards. Could. We'll know in, say, 45 minutes.
BOOKING: Santi Mina goes into the book for a foul on Milicevic, who's been quiet, but he'll whip a free kick into the box now and...
....and it's a good delivery, fizzed into the danger zone, but Mustafi clears for a corner, which comes to nothing.
CHANCE! Lord knows how Alcacer hasn't scored tonight. He's spurned another good chance, lifting it over Sels and the crossbar. The Gent keeper came out really well to pressure him, to his credit.
SAVE! Tidy save from Jaume Domenech here as he keeps out Laurent Depoitre, who's been quiet. At 26, he's a year younger than me but he looks about 50. Okay not 50, but 35 at least. He was the one in his group of mates who was being served alcohol when he was 13.
BOOKING: Joao Cancelo, who's been excellent, goes into the book for a late challenge on Sven Kums, who looks in a bit of pain. Yellow card at least.
UPDATE! Zenit leading Lyon 2-1. Lacazette had equalised early in the second half, but big Hulk has re-established the lead for the hosts, vying for a third successive win in Group H!
It's a sloppy spell this from Valencia. Quite a few loose passes and they need to get their you know what together - and fast! There's half-an-hour left. Gent, to their credit, want all three points, too. They've been the better team in this second half.
SHOT! It's a stretch even calling this is a shot, but it was. It's Asare, who slices well, well, well wide from a corner. Incidentally, Pablo Piatti replaces Santi Mina now. The 19-year-old had gone quiet, having impressed in the first 20 minutes or so.
CHANCE! Piatti, within minutes of his introduction, almost fires Valencia ahead but he blazes Feghouli's cut-back pass over the bar from close range. It could go either way this. Neither team are settling for a point.
Milicevic is dropping some excellent free kicks into the mixer, and it's good defending from Javi Fuego here as he prevents Laurent Depoitre from nodding home.
It seems as if Gent's crest is the picture of an Indian chief - that's feathers, not dots. What's the origin behind it? Actually, I don't know. It's probably my job to know, but I don't.
You know what, Gent are playing out of their skin in this second half. Valencia are being bossed. Truly, truly bossed, to the point where they can't get out of their own half.
SUB: Second Valencia sub now as Dani Parejo makes way for Rodrigo.
BOOKING: Thomas Foket, Gent's goalscorer, goes into the book for trying to pull the shorts off Rodrigo.
GOAL! Valencia 2-1 Gent (Stefan Mitrovic)
So unlucky for Gent, as defender Mitrovic deflects Gaya's shot into his own net. Cancelo's initial cross bounced off the crossbar. Gaya fired it back in the danger zone and the Gent defender chested it home. The Belgians been the better side.
So, about 14 minutes left. Can Gent get back into it? You'd like to think so. They've managed one equaliser already, but they need another now. As a neutral, it'd be nice to see them equalise. It's not a game that they deserve to lose.
CHANCE! Feghouli's been excellent tonight, Valencia's best, and he plays a fabulous through ball for Rodrigo, who tries to lift it over Sels but, not for the first time, the Gent stopper saves his wide. Good save.
SAVE! What a brilliant save, and it comes from the other end as an air-kick from Santos lets in Danijel Milicevic, whose first-time thrash is heading for the far corner, but Domenech paws it away. Fine work from the Frenchman.
Four minutes to go and Domenech is down 'injured' now. He might be on the ground for a while, eeking out more time. Gent been excellent over the last five minutes or so.
Gent have a free kick in a dangerous position now as Gaya goes into the book for cynically fouling Foket....
Comes to nothing, unfortunately for Gent. Four minutes to be added I think.
FULL TIME: Valencia 2-1 Gent
And that's it! Valencia hang on, despite a very, very nervy last few minutes. Stefan Mitrovic's own goal was the difference between both sides in the end, sadly. Sofiane Feghouli's first-half opener was cancelled out by Thomas Foket's stunner about five minutes before the break. Gent dominated the second half in terms of possession, but it wasn't enough. Credit to Valencia, though, they won very ugly tonight. Very ugly, and as a result they're after moving one big step toward the last 16.
