Valencia turned on the style to hit Huesca for six, confirming relegation for the bottom-of-the-league side in the process.
Marcelino’s team bounced back from their 3-1 Europa League semi-final first leg defeat at Arsenal in the best possible way.
It took just two minutes for the away side to take the lead. Daniel Wass was allowed far too much space on the edge of the box before putting his shot past Roberto Santamaria in the Huesca goal.
In the 16th minute, Rodrigo raced onto Santa Mina’s pass to round the ‘keeper and roll the ball in to make it 2-0 to Valencia.
Santa Mina got on the scoresheet himself just four minutes later, finishing clinically from the right-hand side of the box, putting his shot just inside the far post.
In the 32nd minute, Daniel Wass put in a lovely low cross from the right and Santa Mina was there to score his second goal and put Valencia 4-0 ahead.
It was five just before half-time. Xabier Etxeita turned the ball into his own net after a disastrous backpass from David Ferreiro had put Rodrigo clean through.
Santa Mina set Rodrigo up to make it 6-0 early in the second half and Huesca were just wishing away the minutes by that stage.
The home side did manage two goals to give their fans something to cheer before the end.
A Gonzalo Melero strike and an injury-time penalty from Alex Gallar brought the score back to 6-2 but it was far too little, far too late for Huesca.
They will ply their trade in the Spanish Segunda Division next season.
For Valencia, the win keeps them right in the hunt for Champions League qualification via a top-four LaLiga finish this season.
They are just three points behind fourth-placed Getafe and level on points with Sevilla, with two games remaining for all teams.
Valencia will also be looking to overturn that 3-1 deficit against Arsenal at the Mestalla on Thursday night. If they manage to do that then they will be in the Europa League final against either Chelsea or Eintracht Frankfurt and will have that potential route into next season’s Champions League as well.
Huesca’s goalscorers, Gonzalo Melero and Alex Gallar, were the only players for the home side who finished with a positive fantasy La Liga points-total from the 6-2 defeat. Both players were awarded four points from the game.
Santa Mina and Rodrigo were Valencia’s highest points-earners, winning 12 and 8 points respectively.
Final score: Huesca 2 Valencia 6
Think you know Spanish football? Play https://liga-fantasy.com now!
To leave a comment, you must be logged into www.eurofantasyleague.com