Blázquez brace helps Valencia to 6-0 Copa del Rey win over Tavernes at Mestalla

Valencia beat Tavernes 6-0 in the first round of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday 10 November 2026, a match played at Mestalla even though Valencia were officially the away side, according to Football España. The RFEF had granted Tavernes' request to stage the tie there. EFE, cited in the report, described Tavernes as a sixth-tier club and said close to 40 coaches carried their fans to Mestalla because their municipal ground was not fit to host the match. Mestalla is in its final season before the move to Nou Mestalla.

Valencia were four goals up inside 23 minutes. Raba opened the scoring in the first minute with an assist from Aimar Blázquez, then turned provider for Duro in the 11th. Rioja added the third in the 19th after a pass from Martinez, and Elliott made it four in the 23rd. Tavernes goalkeeper Mainar kept the margin there three minutes into the second half by saving a header from Blázquez, who had been set up by Raba. Blázquez, the number 37, struck in the 57th minute and again in the 69th, both times from Rioja assists. Danjuma replaced him after 70 minutes, when Gayà also came on for Rioja.

Three players were booked: Ugrinic in the ninth minute, Tavernes' Montilla in the 22nd and Rioja in the 49th. Tavernes came closest to a goal when Erik struck the post after a short corner. The report said a 9pm kick-off had been planned, but every Copa del Rey match scheduled for that day was called off by the RFEF, and this one was among them. Tavernes had reached the first round through a two-legged preliminary round against UD Maracena, drawing 1-1 at the CD Maracena ground on Sunday 27 September 2026 and 0-0 in the other leg.

The win followed a 0-3 defeat to Real Madrid and took Valencia into the second round. The report said the Real Madrid loss had itself followed a 1-0 win over Elche and a 1-2 defeat to Villarreal. Javier Aguirre said he took positive conclusions from the tie, welcomed the return of players who had been out long-term and said Valencia now need to win in the league. The cup calendar continues with the round of 32 on 16 December, the last 16 on 6 January and the quarter-finals on 13 January; the semi-finals are the only two-legged round, with first legs on 10 February and second legs on 3 March, and the competition runs until 24 April 2027. Valencia return to league action away to Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de Vallecas on Saturday 21 November.