Roberto Soldado's hat trick led Valencia to a 3-0 win at BATE Borisov, keeping alive the Spanish club's hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stage after Bayern Munich also won on Tuesday.
BATE looked nothing like the team that beat last season's finalist Bayern 3-1 at the same venue of Dinamo Stadium in the previous round of matches. It didn't much look like the side that won 3-1 at Lille, either.
Soldado opened the scoring with a penalty in first-half stoppage time after drawing a foul from Marko Simic, who tried to ensure Soldado didn't get away inside the area.
Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves made crucial second-half stops, including in the 55th that preceded a counterattack in which Soldado scored inside the near post with a volley from Andres Guardado's long-range pass.
The Spain striker sealed the win in the 69th after finishing a neat 1-2 with teammate Tino Costa.
Valencia and BATE both have six points from three games in Group F, the same as Bayern after it beat Lille 1-0 to leave the French champions without a point.
''The group is wide open,'' Valencia coach Mauricio Pellegrino said. ''Every game from here on out will be decisive.''
