VILLARREAL, Spain (REUTERS) - Valencia scored twice in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 victory away to local rivals Villarreal and take the upper hand after the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday (April 11).
The result was harsh on the home side, who largely dominated possession yet were unable to create clear-cut chances against Valencia, who sit 12 places and 16 points above them in La Liga.
They were made to pay as a quick-fire double at the death from Daniel Wass and Goncalo Guedes, his second goal of the match, left them with a mountain to climb in next week's return.
"We knew it was going to be tough and we did what we had to do," Guedes told BeIn Sports.
"We know they have their strengths but we defended well and played on the counter and we were able to get our goals that way.
"I don't think the result was undeserved. We had our chances, we were clinical and it is a deserved victory."
Portugal forward Guedes opened the scoring after six minutes. He was felled in the box by Santiago Caseres and, although Valencia skipper Dani Parejo's penalty was saved by Andres Fernandes, Guedes netted the rebound from close range.
It was the second consecutive game in which Parejo had missed a spot-kick after he failed to score against Rayo Vallecano in la Liga at the weekend.
After ceding the early advantage, Villarreal began to enjoy more of the ball, with Santi Cazorla causing problems for the Valencia backline.
Former Arsenal midfielder Cazorla, who himself missed a penalty at the weekend, equalised from the spot in the 36th minute after Ezequiel Garay clumsily brought down Vicente Iborra and English referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot.
Samuel Chukwueze was twice denied by Valencia goalkeeper Neto after the break as Javi Calleja's side looked to force a winner, but Villarreal gradually ran out of ideas and appeared happy to settle for the draw.
Yet with the clock having reached 90 minutes, Valencia's Wass produced a sweeping left-foot finish against the run of play following Jose Gaya's storming run down the left-hand side to stun the home crowd.
Guedes then rounded off the scoring with the last kick of the game after Denis Cheryshev - a former Villarreal player - led an electric counter-attack as Marcelino's side put one foot in the last four.
"We weren't savvy at all," said Calleja in his post-match news conference.
"There's another game to play (after going 2-1 down), but we played like there wasn't one.
"Now, everything is more difficult. It's a tough result to take but if you gift up chances and don't take yours then Valencia are always going to do what they did.
"We won't give up, of course. We'll go to Mestalla next week wanting to win and restore pride," he added.
Football News -ZURICH (REUTERS) - Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is facing disciplinary action for his celebration after one of the three goals he scored in last week's 3-0 win over Atletico
Ronaldo Faces Disciplinary Hearing Over Goal Celebration
"It was my honour to work for the late and much-loved Khun Vichai, who gave me the fantastic opportunity to manage his club and share some great moments with him. "My mission at Leicester City Football Club ends here but I will continue to follow the performances of the team and wish the club all the best for the future."
Sacked Puel says an 'honour' to manage Leicester -football
Wolves rank among the most social of carnivores, so it's not surprising they have evolved such diverse forms of communication. The most dramatic form of wolf-to-wolf communication, howling, serves to locate separated pack members and advertise a pack's territory, as a wolf howl may be audible for several miles.
Wolves to make it 'special' - theworldnews.net
In Summary. Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will travel with the rest of their squad for their FA Cup semi-final against Brighton and Hove Albion having nearly recovered from a hamstring
Man City's Aguero in frame to face Brighton in FA Cup
Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool v FC Porto - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 9, 2019 Liverpool's Naby Keita celebrates scoring their first goal Action Imag
Football: Keita and Firmino give Liverpool 2-0 win over Porto
Barcelona fell to their first La Liga defeat since November as the champions were beaten 2-0 at struggling Celta Vigo after making 11 changes but forward Ousmane Dembele suffered an injury setback ahead of Tuesday's Champions League game at Liverpool.
Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona - Football Match Report - May 4
Search for missing football player resumes in English Channel. Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala feared dead after his plane disappeared over the English Channel on Monday. 23 Jan 2019 11:52 GMT.
Football: Search for missing Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala
'Ask me at the end of April and I will answer you': Pep Guardiola coy on Quadruple talk after Manchester City squeeze past Swansea in the FA Cup. Manchester City kept their Quadruple ambition on
Football: Ikhsan Fandi focused on task as he begins Norway adventure. Ikhsan Fandi on trial with Raufoss against top-tier Norwegian club Mjondalen on Saturday. He is the first local-born
Ikhsan Fandi News from Singapore, Latest Ikhsan Fandi News
news.trendingnews.co.in/singapore/ikhsan-fandi
Football: Ikhsan Fandi focused on task as he begins Norway adventure The Straits Times. Singapore's Ikhsan Fandi has vowed to make an impact in Norway, after signing a two-year contract with Norwegian second-tier team Raufoss on Saturday.
Things Singapore does better than anywhere else - Hoffeldt.net
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba quickly deleted a controversial social media post of him smiling after manager Jose Mourinho was sacked by the club on Tuesday.
'Caption this': Pogba deletes cryptic post after Mourinho axed
Yet in that time Newport have beaten Wrexham, Leicester and Middlesbrough in the FA Cup to reach the fifth round for the first time in 70 years. "Of course there is," Flynn replied when asked if a shock to end City's hopes of winning an unprecedented quadruple was possible.
Amond's late penalty gives Newport County shock FA Cup win
0 comments:
Post a Comment