Valencia maintained their unbeaten start to the new season in style this afternoon, beating Atletico Madrid 3-1 at the Mestalla to temporarily move top of the table.
The hosts were ahead after just six minutes courtesy of a calamitous own goal from Miranda, while Andre Gomes and Nicolas Otamendi added two more in quick succession to give Valencia a 3-0 lead inside 13 minutes.
Mario Mandzukic pulled a goal back for the champions on the half-hour mark, but Guilherme Siqueira missed a penalty just before the break and Alessio Cerci was sent off in second-half stoppage time.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at an eventful match at the Mestalla.
Match statistics
Valencia
Shots: 6
On target: 3
Possession: 42%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 23
Atletico Madrid
Shots: 19
On target: 5
Possession: 58%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 14
Was the result fair?
The result in this match was completely shaped by an incredible opening 13 minutes that saw Valencia race into a three-goal lead. From that point on, the hosts did not need to force things and could afford to let Atletico have more of the ball, providing they weren't making progress in the final third.
In truth, aside from that early spell, Atletico were probably the better team overall, but they were woeful in the opening 15 minutes and gave three cheap goals away. Valencia took their foot off the pedal after that and played their own game very well, preventing Atletico from getting any real momentum.
It is hard to assess whether Valencia were worthy winners due to the nature of the match, but they were more clinical than Atletico and took their chances when on top. Ignoring the first 15 minutes, a draw probably would have been fair, but overall the hosts were deserving of the three points.
Valencia's performance
They came absolutely flying out of the blocks, and Atletico didn't know what had hit them when they were three down. They were helped largely by some terrible defending from the champions, but they still had to take advantage of that, and they did so with aplomb.
The hosts came under increasing pressure as Atletico began to improve in the second half, and had Siqueira made it 3-2 from the spot in stoppage time of the first half then it may well have been a different story. However, Valencia came out for the second half with a two-goal cushion and they didn't give Atletico any hope of overturning it.
It was a very professional display from Nuno's side in the second half, and they were very much a match for the champions. They prevented them from building the sort of momentum that they had in the first half, and that ensured that Diego Alves had a fairly quiet second 45 minutes. Overall, it was another impressive display in what has been an incredible start to the season.
Atletico's performance
Diego Simeone will have been wondering what on earth was happening after 15 minutes of this match. His side, usually so strong defensively, gave away three cheap and avoidable goals, and it was always going to be a massive ask to get themselves back into the match following such a terrible start.
They did improve as the half wore on, however, and when Mandzukic nodded in after half an hour they will have believed that they could get something out of the game. They may well have done had the penalty gone in, but that miss right at the end of the first half seemed to deflate the visitors, who struggled in the second half.
They saw plenty of the ball, but simply couldn't find a way through a disciplined Valencia outfit. Simeone may be tempted to write the opening 15 minutes off as a major blip, and aside from that it wasn't a bad performance. However, you can't give a team like Valencia a three-goal head start and expect to come away with something.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Nicolas Otamendi: It was an impressive team performance from Valencia today, with no single player standing head and shoulders above the rest. Central to their good defensive effort in the second half, however, was Otamendi, who marshalled the backline well and kept Mandzukic fairly quiet throughout. He also got on the scoresheet himself, planting a header past the keeper.
Biggest gaffe
No contest here. Forget gaffe of the game, this could well be the gaffe of the season. Miranda's own goal was simply calamitous as he raced in front of his own keeper before glancing a header past him and into the corner. It was an aimless ball upfield that Moya would have collected with no trouble whatsoever, but Miranda's contribution saw his side fall behind inside six minutes, as well as sparking the goal rush.
Referee performance
Fernando Teixeira had a busy day today, awarding a penalty and showing a red card as well as dealing with a lot of niggly issues throughout. The penalty in particular was harsh, with the ball just grazing the arm of Jose Gaya.
What next?
Valencia: Next up for the unbeaten Valencia is a trip to face Deportivo La Coruna after the international break.
Atletico: Atletico, meanwhile, will host Espanyol on Sunday, October 19.
Barney Corkhill
