Just a matter of days after Gary Neville had recorded his first La Liga victory as head coach of Valencia, the Englishman watched on tonight as his side smashed six goals past a hapless Rapid Vienna in the first leg of their last-32 Europa League clash.
Valencia's first five goals at the Mestalla came before the break, with playmaker Santi Mina scoring twice and assisting the other three. The scoring was completed in the 90th minute by second-half substitute Rodrigo.
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As for Neville's former side Manchester United, they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of a FC Midtjylland side that had not played a competitive fixture for two months.
Memphis Depay gave the Red Devils the lead in Denmark, but the hosts hit back through Pione Sisto and Paul Onuachu.
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Elsewhere, England's other representatives in the competition - Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool - drew away at Fiorentina and Augsburg respectively.
Borussia Dortmund came out on top in what many people regarded to be the tie of the round against Porto thanks to a goal in either half from Lukasz Piszczek and Marco Reus.
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Fernando Llorente notched twice in Sevilla's 3-0 triumph over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Molde, while Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Etienne won by the odd goal in five against Basel.
There were home victories for Anderlecht, Villarreal and Sparta Prague, whereas Athletic Bilbao, Braga and Bayer Leverkusen all recorded wins on the road. Meanwhile, there was nothing to split the sides in Galatasaray's home encounter with Lazio and Schalke 04's trip to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The second legs will all take place next Thursday evening.
Results in full: Anderlecht 1-0 Olympiacos, Dortmund 2-0 Porto, Midtjylland 2-1 Man United, Fiorentina 1-1 Spurs, Sevilla 3-0 Molde, St Etienne 3-2 Basel, Villarreal 1-0 Napoli, Augsburg 0-0 Liverpool, Galatasaray 1-1 Lazio, Marseille 0-1 Athletic Bilbao, Shakhtar 0-0 Schalke, Sion 1-2 Braga, Sparta Prague 1-0 Krasnodar, Sporting Lisbon 0-1 Leverkusen, Valencia 5-0 Rapid
Liam Apicella
