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.
Pep Guardiola is confident his achievements at Manchester City will not be tarnished by UEFA's investigation into alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches and trusted the club to resolve the
Guardiola trusts Man City to resolve FFP allegations - The
Madrid, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th May, 2019 ) :Madrid will deploy an unprecedented number of police and security personnel for Saturday's all-English Champions League final, and use a drone for the first time to monitor fan activity.
Sport24.co.za | Madrid plans 'robust' security for all
Liverpool defender Joel Matip will be out of action for up to six weeks after suffering a fractured collarbone. Matip was injured in the final minutes of Liverpool's 1-0 win against Napoli in the
Football: Liverpool title bid hit by Matip injury, Football
Wasteful Portugal were held to a 1-1 home draw by Serbia after their captain and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo limped off with an apparent hamstring injury in the first half of their Euro 2020
Enrique praises Ramos as 'unique' player's penalty secures
Lionel Messi All 253 Goals in La Liga New Record HD iNJRHD. Loading Unsubscribe from iNJRHD? Cancel Unsubscribe. Working Subscribe Subscribed Unsubscribe 238K.
Lionel Messi Best Skills LaLiga Santander 2017/2018 - youtube.com
Arsenal manager Unai Emery was fined 8,000 pounds ($10,200) on Monday but avoided a touchline ban for kicking a plastic bottle at a Brighton and Hove Albion supporter, the English Football Association (FA) said.
Football: Arsenal's Emery fined for kicking bottle at
Football: Diehard Malaysian fans sell prized memorabilia to
Feb 27, 2019 · A portrait of Emiliano Sala on the pitch at Nantes before a match there on 10 February. Photograph: Loïc Venance/AFP/Getty Images Nantes have complained to Fifa that Cardiff have not paid the
Cardiff to tell Fifa that Emiliano Sala's transfer from
Juventus deny making an approach for Guardiola Serie A champions Juventus have dismissed reports they are set to make Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola their new head coach.
Juventus deny making an approach for Pep Guardiola
"I think it was a massive victory, a massive three points to make us believe that little more, in our possibility to be in a very good position in the table," Pochettino said, as quoted by the
F365's early loser: Pochettino and a 'massive' defeat for
Injured Barcelona forward Luis Suarez to miss China Cup for
MADRID (REUTERS) - Holders Real Madrid were sensationally knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday (March 5) after being thrashed 4-1 at home by an outstanding Ajax Amsterdam who overturned
Shell-shocked Real Madrid Knocked Out of Champions League by
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place Chelsea have won five of their last seven league matches and sit six points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal Jun 07, 2019
English Premier League: Willian gem sinks Newcastle as
Josh Brownhill is hoping his elder brother Lewis will be a big cheese in Cheshire on Saturday - and help spur him to Wembley. For their mum and dad there is the enticing prospect of two of their
Why Tottenham Hotspur fans have always hated Wembley
0 comments:
Post a Comment