International Champions Cup: Valencia Storm Past Inter in 4-Goal Rout

As Inter Milan and Valencia entered the second stage of the 2013 Guinness International Champions Cup, they were presented with a strange setting at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

The familiar blue and black of the Nerazzurri and the white and black of Los Che were pertinent on the pitch, but if you glanced into the stands of the stadium that hosts the National Football League's duo of New York franchises, you would have noticed far less support for both clubs.

The reason for that was the match following the showdown between the Italian and the Spanish clubs as superpowers Chelsea and AC Milan were set to square off in the second match of the night.

Despite lacking any type of boisterous supporters, Valencia delivered a show in front of plenty of neutrals waiting for the star-studded circus to follow.

The tone of the match was set early on as Ever Banega launched a shot into the top-right corner of the net in the seventh minute.

Banega's rifle of a shot cruised past the outstretched arm of Samir Handanovic, who was forced to pick the ball out of his own net on three occasions. Substitute Luca Castellazzi would have the honor of doing that on the fourth Valencia goal.

The Argentinian midfielder was a dominant force throughout the first half that saw the right side of the Inter defense face struggle after struggle when forced to deal with the interchanging attacking movement of the Spanish side.

The same side of the Inter defense saw an opening form in the 34th minute as Jonathan Viera's strike clipped off of the head of Marco Andreolli and into the back of the net.

Viera, who will be looking to fill the goalscoring void left by Tottenham-bound Roberto Soldado, performed well in attack alongside Banega and Paco Alcacer.

When the second half opened its doors, much of the same developed at the stadium whose biggest cheer in the two-hour match came when members from Chelsea and AC Milan appeared to stretch on the sidelines.

While the excitement was building in the stands, the Spanish conquest of the 2010 UEFA Champions League winners marched on.

Mixed with a plethora of substitutions, Los Che delivered more individual brilliance against a flat-footed Inter back four.

The third goal of the match came in the 56th minute as substitute Jonas marched through the penalty area and slotted the ball past Handanovic.

As if a third goal was not enough to add to the misery of Inter and the pleasure of their rival fans in the stands, a fourth goal was put in the back of the net in the 89th minute, with Viera being the goalscorer again.

With the Nerazzurri defense once again looking dazed and confused, Viera trotted around from the left corner of the penalty area to the back of the net with the ball failing to drift far from his feet at any time during the sequence.

By the time the final whistle was sounded by match referee Mark Kadlecik, the cheers in the stands came from the large group of AC Milan supporters who thoroughly enjoyed the appetizer served to them before they partook in the main course.

Both Valencia and Inter, as well as the other six clubs in the tournament, will take their talents to Miami for the final set of matches to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Inter will square off with Series A rival Juventus in the seventh-place match while Valencia's fate will be determined by the result of the Chelsea-AC Milan match.

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