Andre Villas-Boas has claimed that Zenit St Petersburg executed his gameplan perfectly in the 3-2 victory over Valencia.

Zenit made the perfect start to their Champions League campaign as they claimed all three points at the home of their Group H rivals, despite wasting a two-goal advantage before Axel Witsel clinched the victory.

Villas-Boas was quick to reveal his delight with the way his players threatened on the break in an impressive win at the Mestalla.

"We played well, although we let Valencia have most of the possession," the Zenit boss told reporters. "That was our strategy – to counter-attack. That is how we got our three goals. The result is fair.

"To have a lot of the ball in football does not necessarily mean a lot. That can work during a match and today we were fortunate to win the game using this strategy. We did not have the majority of the possession, but when we had the ball we did well."

Zenit host Gent in their next Group H fixture on September 29.