Ezequiel Garay (Valencia) took a first-time shot from mid-range after he was put in the clear by a great pass, but the effort lacked a little accuracy and went just wide of the left post.
Goal – 2:3! Ainsley Maitland-Niles laid the ball off to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal), who shot from close range into the bottom right corner, leaving the goalkeeper helpless.
Watch Second GOAL Aubameyang vs Valencia Link
Thursday’s hosts aren’t short of attacking quality, so they’ll fancy themselves to turn things around on their own patch, though their previous efforts at Mestalla in this competition haven’t been overly impressive. They could only manage a 1-0 victory against Celtic, while they beat Krasnodar by a single-goal margin too. During the previous round, Valencia beat Villarreal 2-0 at this venue.
A repeat of that score-line on Thursday would be enough for the Bats, though they had the benefit of holding a first-leg lead against their compatriots, which allowed them to sit back and play on the break. On this occasion, as they trail by two goals from the first leg, such a tactic won’t suffice.
The way that Arsenal went away to Napoli in the previous round and nullified their hosts should worry Valencia. Unai Emery’s men held a two-goal advantage ahead of that second leg and they used it to their advantage, as they remained disciplined defensively before pouncing on the break.