VALENCIA // The Valencia coach Unai Emery hopes his side's first-leg win over Real Madrid in the Supercopa on Sunday is a sign of things to come this season. After a traumatic campaign last year, Valencia showed the qualities Emery is looking for after bouncing back from a half-time deficit to defeat champions Madrid 3-2 at the Mestalla.
Real's Ruud van Nistelrooy opened the scoring in 13th minute and then drew the teams level again at 2-2 in the 67th minute, but second-half goals from Juan Mata, David Villa and Vicente earned Valencia a slender advantage. Emery, who left Almeria to take over the reins at Valencia this summer, knows it is still early days, but believes his new side are on the right path to avoid a repeat of last season's relegation battle.
"We are, bit by bit, trying to provide calm to the team so they can express themselves with confidence," said Emery. "They were all comfortable on the pitch, they had good motivation and had a great bond with the fans. The team have shown their best side." He added: "What we have seen against Real Madrid is the identity that we want our team to show. "To maintain this is not easy, but it is the path that we want." Madrid coach Bernd Schuster was also impressed.
He said: "Valencia are coming back to being the team we expect them to be. None of us understood what happened to them last year." * Agencies