"We played with a very new team tonight, the adaptation was not easy at the beginning but I think they all did a very good job"

In his post-match press conference, Nuno Espirito Santo reflected on their side's 1-2 win in the Copa del Rey first leg against Rayo Vallecano. Valencia CF manager said he was very satisfied with his players' performance.

"The team's display improved considerably after the interval. In the first half we struggled to have possession of the ball but in the second half we were in total control of the game. I am very satisfied with what we did”.

"We played with a very new team tonight, the adaptation was not easy for some players at the beginning but I think they all did a very good job. Not only Filipe Augusto but the rest of the players had difficulty in the first half. This is a very difficult ground, the pitch is smaller, besides Rayo put a lot of pressure on us".

Asked about De Paul, Nuno stated that "what he did tonight was a reward for his hard work. Although he still has many things to improve, he is doing better every day".

Nuno went on to say that "today we’ve seen a Valencia CF that are capable of turning the game around. I think that is something very important and an attitude that I really value in my team".

“We are aware that we still need to improve a lot to get back to the winning track in the league. We will focus on getting positive results in our two last league games before the Christmas break".