3 takeaways from Valencia's valiant stand against Real Madrid

Hosting the mighty Real Madrid at the Mestalla Stadium, Valencia put in a valiant display with a man advantage to hold Los Blancos to a 2-2 draw.

Here are three takeaways from the match:

Real Madrid's 'BBC' is capable of some beautiful football

Rafa Benitez will be quite pleased with his side's opening effort, as Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo displayed intricate passing, instinctual movement, and clinical footwork to open the scoring against Valencia.

Related - VIDEO: Real Madrid's 'BBC' combo delivers 1-2-3 punch against Valencia

This trio of superstars - dubbed the "BBC" in contrast to Barcelona's "MSN" (Messi, Suarez, Neymar) trio - is starting to gain the sort of chemistry that is born only through time and experience, and now look to be a very dangerous combination.

Poor Valencia had no chance at stopping the three once they got going; even manager Gary Neville admitted before the match there was little his side could even do if players like Ronaldo perform at that level.

Rafa Benitez is loved in at least one part of Spain

It's no secret that some (vocal) Real Madrid fans aren't quite pleased with the appointment of Rafa Benitez. But over at Valencia, Benitez remains a club hero, and was appreciated as such prior to kick off in the match.

Valencia's supporters unfurled a banner in the north stands paying tribute to the man who led the club to La Liga glory over a decade ago in his first return to the Mestalla Stadium.

Those fans remember Benitez's time fondly with the hopes of repeating their title-winning endeavors in the future. A return to those days at Valencia may not be too far off, if their impressive showing against Real Madrid on Sunday was any indication of the young club's potential.

Something special is brewing at the Mestalla

That this young Valencia team (emphasis on young) went toe-to-toe against Real Madrid is a testament to the quality of Neville's players. Yes, it should have been a penalty for Ronaldo. Yes, the red card changed the game. And yes, this Valencia team isn't a title contender. Not yet.

There is, however, a new vision being implemented at Valencia.

Just take a look at its players under the age of 23: Skhodran Mustafi, Paco Alcacer, Joao Cancelo, Andre Gomes, Rodrigo De Paul, Ruben Vezo, Jose Gaya, Zakari Bakkali, Santi Mina, and Danilo are all highly-touted youngsters, each with tremendous potential and quality. The rest of Valencia's core isn't much older themselves. Key figures like Dani Parejo, Aderlan Santos, Sofiane Feghouli, and Aymen Abdennour are all still a few years away from their 30s, as well.

When young players play together for a long time, grow up on the pitch together, and become battle-hardened side-by-side, champions are often born. This is how Barcelona grew to dominate Europe for so many years; for Valencia, perennially brushed aside as a stepping-stone team, that same idea is being implemented - or, at least, it's being attempted.

Valencia also appears to be at a crossroads. The club has operated as a develop-and-sell team for a long time. There's no guarantee the same thing won't happen with this current crop. But if this team sticks together for long enough that it finally clicks, Valencia looks set to be a force in Spanish football once more.