Mario Suarez the unlikely hero as Prandelli gets off to winning start at Valencia

Two goals from Mario Suarez, one in each half, gave Valencia the win as Cesare Prandelli made his debut as the club's manager. 

Carlos Castro's equaliser just before half time gave Sporting Gijon hope of ending their bad run, but Abelardo's side conceded again after the break and their losing streak now stands at five games, leaving them in the relegation zone. 

Prandelli, meanwhile, just about overcame his first test as Valencia manager. Next up, on Saturday, Barcelona are due at the Mestalla and Los Che will have to be better to get a result then. 

As was expected, Prandelli made some changes to the system, introducing a double pivot, with Enzo Perez and Mario Suarez. He stuck with Aderlan Santos and Garay in defence and left Joao Cancel in an attacking right wing position. 

There weren't many differences from the Valencia we saw under Pako Ayestaran, although they were maybe more focused in defence. Or at least Garay was -- Santos was culpable for the Sporting goal. Los Che were also better bringing the ball out from the back, but it seems Rodrigo is having no more luck in front of goal than Paco Alcacer. 

However, it's Sporting's situation which is more worrying. The Asturian team lack a goal scorer and it's clearly costing them.