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.
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