Valencia CF vs Real Betis

Valencia opened their LaLiga campaign with a frustrating home defeat, undone by a late sucker-punch from Real Betis at Mestalla. Despite controlling large stretches of the game and creating the better chances, the home side had nothing to show for it by full time. The breakthrough came just four minutes after Pablo García was introduced from the bench, the substitute finishing off a move set up by Fran García in the 83rd minute to snatch all three points for the visitors. Bookings were shown to Ryunosuke Sato, Júnior Firpo and Mouctar Diakhaby as tempers occasionally flared, but no other major flashpoints disrupted the contest. The result stings for Valencia, who actually outshot their opponents and posted the higher expected-goals tally, yet start the season with nothing to show for their effort. For Betis, it's the perfect away-day start, with Álvaro Vallés's goalkeeping display helping preserve a narrow but valuable opening win.