He is in somewhat better form; and when Nani's form returns he'll play better than Valencia does when on form.
I love watching Valencia, because I just love watching quality wingers, but your observation about his ball being earlier than Nani's is well off imo. Nani counter-attacks far quicker than Valencia and seems to read the game much quicker at the beginning of an attacking phase; and whilst Valencia's superior pace allows him onto a through-ball first more often, he will rarely look up and play a quick ball into the middle, something which Nani does often. Even when attacking a crowded defence, Nani will pop the ball around and move, looking for the opening for Rooney, Berba or Hernandez whilst keeping possession on and around the edge of the box and looking always for the shot himself in much the same way Rooney does in the same position; contrast this with Valencia, who will make a dash for the byline more often than not, or cut inside and drive into the box; after receiving possession his balls often come later and are low-driven percentage crosses aimed into an area rather than for any specific player. The early ball is far more likely to come from Nani, and it'll come accurately after looking up and spotting the intended target player, which is why Nani has superbly created so many goals this season; just an irrelevant stat, so you assure us, but one which does indeed perfectly reflect a fantastic overall attacking threat and reliability that no other winger in the country can match.
