Getafe’s away woes deepened inside eight minutes as Valencia struck early, with Pepelu winning and converting a penalty after Omar Alderete’s clumsy challenge, drilling it past a helpless David Soria into the corner.
The Paraguayan defender nearly redeemed himself with a vicious free-kick that forced a spectacular double-handed save from Giorgi Mamardashvili, only to compound his nightmare before the half’s midway mark when he diverted Diego Lopez’s left-footed effort into his own net despite Soria getting a hand to it.
Valencia should have sealed the game before half-time when Andre Almeida raced onto a precise through ball, but he wasted a golden chance with a weak finish straight at Soria.
Getafe’s collapse continued moments later, with Domingos Duarte’s reckless challenge felling Hugo Duro in the box, allowing the striker to calmly bury the resultant penalty into the bottom-left corner.
Mamardashvili flung himself to palm Peter Federico’s header away in first-half stoppage time, producing a superb reaction save that took Los Ches into the interval with a remarkable three-goal lead.
The Azulones remained pinned under Valencia’s dominance after the break, as Duro came close to adding a fourth with a close-range header, before José Bordalás introduced four fresh faces to spark a revival.
However, it proved ineffectual for the visitors, who pushed for a consolation to no avail, ultimately losing their third consecutive match, having conceded before half-time in all three.
For Carlos Corberan, who inherited a battle for survival in December when he took over, this 10-game unbeaten run now positions Valencia firmly on Europe’s doorstep with three fixtures left.
Meanwhile, Getafe extended their winless streak at the Mestalla to six years, with four consecutive losses here since their last triumph back in April 2018.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pepelu (Valencia)