Nelson Valdez scored a goal in each half as Hercules stunned Spanish champion Barcelona with a 2-0 win at the Camp Nou on Saturday.
The Paraguay striker beat Victor Valdes in the 27th minute. He latched on to Tiago Filipe’s centering pass from a swift counterattack to beat the goalkeeper in the 59th for his second goal.
While Barcelona controlled the play, Bojan Krkic, David Villa and Gerard Pique all missed first-half opportunities.
“We didn’t come here just to show up,” said Valdez, who joined from Borussia Dortmund in August. “We took advantage of our opportunities and we knew that’s what we had to do.”
Barcelona has only three points from two rounds afters its first league defeat at the Camp Nou since May 2009.
Valencia made it two straight wins to start the season by beating Racing Santander 1-0 at its Mestalla Stadium.
Moments after Santander goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez had saved from striker Aritz Aduritz in a one-on-one situation, Hedwiges Maduro headed past him in the 47th.
Barcelona began well with Lionel Messi having a weak shot saved before Bojan poked Maxwell’s centering pass wide in the ninth minute after an exquisite through ball by Villa.
Messi would have few decent touches after that, and Valdez soon silenced the home supporters after jumping on the rebound left by Valdes, who saved Abraham Paz’s initial shot from inside the box.
Villa nearly equalised but shaved the crossbar with a left-footed shot in the 33rd minute. Two minutes later, Pique’s header from close range went wide.
After the restart, Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez replaced Mascherano and Pedro Rodriguez came on for Bojan.
But Valdez extended Hercules’s lead with a hard shot over the outstretched Valdes, who was soon called upon to keep it at 2-0. Hercules ‘keeper Juan Calatayud denied Villa’s low shot in the 71st.
