HOLDERS Bayern Munich face elimination in the first round of the UEFA Cup after going down 3-0 to struggling Valencia last night.

It was a remarkable turn around for the Spaniards after starting the league disastrously and seeing preparations for the game disrupted by the angry reaction of Brazil's World Cup striker Romario to being dropped by coach Luis Aragones.

Valencia went ahead against the run of play in the 19th minute when the referee surprised even the home fans by awarding a penalty for a foul against Gabriel Moya. Vicente Engonga scored from the spot, though he had to take the kick twice. Six minutes later Argentine striker Claudio Lopez made it 2-0 when he latched on to a cross from Russian midfielder Valery Karpin to give keeper Oliver Kahn no chance.

Moya headed home the third from another Karpin cross just after the break and, with the Germans in disarray, Valencia could have gone further ahead in the second half. To round off an already disastrous night for Bayern, three times European Cup champions in the mid 1970s, Alexander Zickler was sent off for a heavy challenge in the closing minutes.