Nuno lauds ´well-organised´ Valencia

Valencia coach Nuno was thrilled with his team’s defending after an important 1-0 Champions League win over Lyon.

A first-half Sofiane Feghouli goal saw the La Liga side to their victory at the Stade de Gerland to give Valencia their first points in Group H on Tuesday.

Nuno was full of praise for his team as they climbed into second in the group, three points behind leaders Zenit.

“My defence was well-organised, solid and we handled the Lyon front line well,” he said, via the UEFA website.

“My squad is very balanced and we are happy and proud to have won here against a very good team.

“Possession was essential to our plan. We changed it in the second half. We defended well and played looking for [Pablo] Piatti and Feghouli on the wings and that worked for us in the end.”

Feghouli struck three minutes before half-time in Lyon, taking a square pass from Piatti before firing in off the crossbar from just outside the area.

Nuno said his side were deserving winners as they made it back-to-back 1-0 wins, having beaten Granada in the league on Friday.

“I want to start by congratulating my players. Hard work has paid off. This win is very important,” he said.

“We worked well today. We had to fight until the end. I want to thank the fans as well. We had a lot of chances in the first half and we defended well.

“This is a deserved win. I am lucky enough to have several good goalkeepers and I am happy about that.”