Copa Del Rey Salvation for Valencia : Review and Player Ratings

Valencia lifted the Copa del Rey with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Getafe at the Vicente Calderon.

Valencia were off to a flying start when they drew first blood thanks to Juan Manuel Mata who fired them in front after just four minutes on the clock.

Seven minutes later, defender Alexis doubled the lead to put Valencia in the driver's seat. To add insult to injury, Alexis had moved to Valencia from Getafe last summer.

After the two early body blows, Getafe gradually regained their composure and started to assert themselves. Esteban Granero's penalty just before half time gave Getafe a hope of a comeback.

Spanish international striker David Villa had two good opportunities within the first 10 minutes after the break, the latter requiring a good reflex save from Getafe keeper Oscar Ustari.

Granero then hit the cross bar from 20 yards out just after the hour to show that Getafe hadn't thrown in the towel.

Valencia keeper Timo Hildebrand then pulled off a magnificent save to keep out Braulio Nobrega's header 10 minutes from the whistle before second half substitute Fernando Morientes found the net six minutes from time. It was a sweet moment for Morientes who finally filled the one missing space in his trophy cabinet.

Further adding to Getafe's problems was the sending off of Fabio Celestini for a late tackle on David Silva in the closing stages.

Player Ratings

VALENCIA 

Hildebrand 7 - Did not have much to do through the game, but when one golden chance looked goalbound he was on his game to make a strong save.

Miguel 7 - A solid performance at right back prevented Granero from producing his full range of tricks and crosses.

Alexis 9 - The entire Valencia defence was strong and he will be particularly pleased to have capped a strong display with a fine goal against his former club.

Albiol 7.5 - Did well until limping out of the action midway through the second period in the game against the team where he spent a year on loan.

Moretti 7 - Arguably not his best game, but he put himself about and looked to move forward when he could.

Marchena 8.5 - If you are a Valencia fan he is a leader and inspires the side and that is what he did today as he was involved in everything.

Baraja 8.5 - Another strong performance in the centre of a Valencia midfield that looked to shut down Getafe and caused them real problems early on.

David Silva 7.5 - Became the target of some hefty challenges and that was a tribute to the worry he caused. Set up the first goal with a great cross, but left his finishing boots at home.

Mata 7 - Was asked to perform a fair amount of defensive duties and that prevented him from displaying his abilities going forward.

Arizmendi 7 - Often took the ball down the left flank and held up the play in order to take the pressure off his defence. A strong display indeed.

David Villa 6 - Did not have his best game either as he wasted two good chances, one of which he really should have put on target when clean through.

Subs

Caneira 7 - Slotted in seamlessly to the side which is testament to how well he played.

Edu 7 - Also did not put a foot wrong when coming into the side and will particularly enjoy the win after spending so long out with injuries.

Morientes 8 - Was given one task and carried it out superbly as Valencia needed a goal to finish the game off and his brave header did that.

GETAFE

Ustari 5 - Did make one fine save from Villa to deny Valencia, but just like against Bayern, a goalkeeping error and a poor clearance took the wind out of Getafe's sails.

Cortés 6 - Was unable to go forward as much as he is accustomed to but did a good job keeping Mata quiet down the flank.

Cata Diaz 7 - He was not at fault for any of the goals and put in a reasonably solid display individually, even though Getafe failed defensively as a unit.

Tena 5.5 - The flashes of strength and prowess were undone when he lost Alexis for the second goal. Also gave away possession more than once.

Licht 6.5 - Was also not at his best as he showed signs of nerves and later frustration, but that may have been down to fatigue too.

Contra 7 - Went on one purposeful run and won Getafe a penalty and a way back into the game, before going off.

Casquero 6.5 - Was replaced with what must have been an injury. He had been unable to move freely as Valencia's pressure penned him in.

De la Red 5 - Made mistakes defensively, and bottled it up front on a couple of occasions. The talented midfielder had a game he will want to forget in a real hurry.

Granero 8 - His running caused Valencia problems and his shot against the bar probably deserved more than a goal-kick.

Albín 6.5 - Neither of the Getafe strikers excelled as they were marked out of the game, but Albín was marginally better than Del Moral.

Del Moral 5.5 - If had stayed on his feet on the occasions he looked for a penalty with some poor dives he may have done more.

Subs

Pablo 6 - Came on and was unable to change Getafe's fortunes down the right flank.

Celestini 4 - May have been surprised to have earned a ref card, but the tackle on Silva was hard and from behind and was needless.

Braulio 7 - Could have made things so different had his powerful header not been tipped superbly wide by Hildebrand.

The win eases the pressure on Valencia coach Ronald Koeman following a disappointing Liga campaign by securing the team a place in Europe next season.