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Cape Town - Valencia boss Albert Celades saluted the performance of his newly inherited side as they beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Champions League.
The Spaniards were supposed to be there for the taking for Chelsea, having arrived in west London in turmoil following the sacking of popular manager Marcelino last week.
It was a move which has angered the players as well as the fans, but new boss Celades had predicted they would not play like a team on the verge of mutiny.
And he was proved right as against all the odds they managed to upset a Chelsea side, who were expected to take all three points and kick-off the group with a win.
Valencia had other ideas though, much to the delight of their new coach.
“Obviously we are delighted. It’s very difficult to come here and get a win against a good side with great players,” Celades said. “We did a good job. The players are happy. Let’s hope we can just speak about football from here on in.”
Chelsea were arguably the better side with Willian and Tammy Abraham going close to breaking the deadlock numerous times before Rodrigo pounced from a set-piece with 16 minutes to go.
The home side still had a chance to draw level, but thankfully for Los Che, Ross Barkley could only clip the bar from the penalty spot after VAR detected a handball in the area.
- TeamTalk Media
