Soldado: Me and Valencia needed that

Valencia match-winner Roberto Soldado reflected on his side's impressive UEFA Champions League victory over BATE Borisov and admitted: "We needed that". Soldado scored all three goals as Los Che ended BATE's 100 per cent record in Group F with a 3-0 win at the Dinamo Stadion. The triumph saw the Spaniards join BATE and Bayern Munich, who beat Lille last night, in a three-way tie at the top of the pool on six points, and ended their long wait for an away victory. The last time Valencia tasted success in a competitive match away from the Mestalla was back in March. "We needed that, both me and the team," said Soldado, who had not netted an away goal in seven months. "It was almost essential to win away from home and even more so in this competition, because to be at the top of the group we had to get the three points. It was the same for me - I had to score." Valencia and BATE clash again on Matchday 4 at the Mestalla next month, and Soldado is hoping his side can repeat last night's success and take a significant step towards the last knock-out stages. "Now we have the head-to-head advantage," he told AS. "That game was like a final and it will be like that for the coming games now. At the Mestalla we need to win the two matches that are left and if we do that, we'll be through." From Fifa