Racing Genk held an attacking Valencia to a 0-0 draw in their opening Group E game in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
Despite playing away from home, Valencia kept looking for victory in the knowledge the Belgian champion was the rank outsider in a group currently led by Chelsea after its 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen at Stamford Bridge.
Valencia came closest in the 72nd minute when Pablo Hernandez crossed to Rami and the defender saw his overhead volley hit the bar. Valencia brought goalkeeper Diego Alves back into the lineup and was grateful to him in the 84th minute when his spectacular save denied Jeroen Simaeys.
Yet despite its offensive threat, led by Dani Parejo, Valencia only had one point to show for its efforts.
The Spanish side looked promising early on with Rami heading over before Roberto Soldado, who has struck four times in La Liga already this season, also missed the target with a header.
Summer signing Pablo Piatti then tried his luck with an effort that was straight at home goalkeeper Laszlo Koteles.
Mehmet Topal, Parejo and Piatti fared no better before Genk started to fight its way back into the game with Daniel Pudil volleying wide and Simaeys bringing a save out of Alves.
The second half saw Valencia again start brightly with Piatti shooting over before Soldado saw a cross-shot parried by Koteles in the 55th minute.
The match was clearly heading towards a goalless stalemate, though Valencia came agonizingly close to breaking the deadlock with Rami's spectacular effort.
The Spanish side will have home advantage in its next Group E match on Sept 28., when it hosts Chelsea, while Genk travels to Leverkusen.
