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  • Mar, Tue, 2020
Sport

Ilicic masterclass guides Atalanta past Valencia in UEFA Champions League

Masterclass
Valencia (Spain), March 10, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) Visiting Atalanta’s Josip Ilicic scored four goals in a stunning individual display to lead them to a 4-3 UEFA Champions League last 16 second leg win over Valencia on Tuesday.

The Italian side thus completed an 8-4 aggregate victory, at an empty Mestalla stadium.

The Spanish side’s stadium was shut to supporters as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, with the visitors coming from a high-risk zone in the north of Italy.

Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby conceded two penalty kicks in the first half, both converted by Ilicic, either side of Kevin Gameiro’s equaliser.

Gameiro headed home a second and Ferran Torres put Valencia ahead on the night.

But Slovenian playmaker Ilicic completed his hat-trick and then curled in a sumptuous fourth as his team reached the quarter-finals.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

  • Feb, Wed, 2020
Sport

UCL: Atalanta fairytale continues as Italians thrash Valencia

Fairytale
Milan (Italy), Feb. 19, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) Atalanta continued their dream debut UEFA Champions League campaign on Wednesday with a 4-1 win over Valencia in an entertaining last 16 first leg meeting at San Siro in Milan.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Serie A side raced into a two-goal lead by half-time with goals from Hans Hateboer and Josip Ilicic, while Valencia were denied by the post.

Remo Freuler’s curling strike and a second goal for Hateboer looked to have ended the tie as a contest.

But substitute Denis Cheryshev gave the Spanish visitors a faint glimmer of hope with an away goal.

Two-time runners-up Valencia will host the Serie A side at the Mestalla Stadium in the return leg on March 10.

Atalanta qualified for Europe’s top club competition for the first time with a surprise third-place finish in Serie A last season.

It was achieved in spite of having the 14th-highest wage budget in the division.

Playing their home games at Milan after their Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia failed to meet UEFA standards, they got off to a nightmare start by losing their opening three group games.

But a home draw with Manchester City followed by wins over Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk was enough to send them to the knockout stages.

More than 45,000 fans travelled to Milan for Wednesday’s game, 51 kilometres away from Atalanta’s hometown of Bergamo, which has a population of just 120,000 people.

They began in confident fashion, coming close to the opener after just eight minutes when Mario Pasalic burst into the box and saw his curling shot superbly saved by Jaume Domenech.

The hosts found the breakthrough when Hateboer met an Alejandro Gomez cross at the back post and slid in a finish from close range.

The goal drew a response from Valencia, who were inches away from an equaliser when Ferran Torres smashed a shot against the post from a tight angle.

Goncalo Guedes’ effort also flew wide, just beyond the outstretched foot of Eliaquim Mangala.

But the Italians doubled their lead three minutes before the interval when Ilicic gathered the ball on the edge of the area and smashed a right-footed drive beyond Domenech.

The chances continued to flow in the second half and a third goal arrived when Freuler whipped a sublime finish into the top corner from the edge of the area.

Valencia striker Maxi Gomez squandered a glorious chance, firing a shot into the scrambling Pierluigi Gollini’s grasp with the goal gaping.

Yet the Dutch international Hateboer struck again after 63 minutes, beating the offside trap on the right wing before driving forward and firing home a finish.

Valencia eventually took one of their chances to notch an away goal.

A lazy pass from Jose Luis Palomino was pounced on by substitute Cheryshev, who drilled a shot into the bottom corner with his first act of the game.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Messi brace rescues draw for FC Barcelona against Valencia

Comeback
Barcelona (Spain), Feb. 2, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Lionel Messi dragged FC Barcelona back from two goals down by scoring twice to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia in a thrilling encounter on Saturday.

The draw interrupted the La Liga leaders’ streak of eight consecutive league wins.

Valencia, who hit the woodwork in the second minute, went ahead in the 24th minute with a well-taken finish from French forward Kevin Gameiro.

They doubled their lead with a powerful penalty kick from Dani Parejo in the 32nd minute.

Messi halved the deficit seven minutes later by scoring for the ninth consecutive game in all competitions.

The Argentinian converted from the penalty spot after having a goal chalked off as the referee had already blown his whistle to award the penalty.

Barca’s insatiable captain equalised in the 64th with an unstoppable curling strike from outside the area, averting a first league loss for the league leaders since November.

The draw also took the defending champions on to 50 points from 22 games.

Ernesto Valverde’s side are six points ahead of nearest challengers Atletico Madrid, who visit Real Betis on Sunday.

They are also 11 points clear of third-placed Real Madrid, who also host Alaves on Sunday. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Rodrigo grabs late double to seal Cup semi-finals berth for Valencia

Spanish Cup
Madrid, Jan. 30, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Valencia reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals after Rodrigo Moreno scored twice in stoppage time for a hat-trick to help them beat Getafe 3-1 on Tuesday.

They secured a 3-2 aggregate win with the victory, after losing last week’s first leg 1-0.

There had seemed little hope of progression for the home side when Jorge Molina put Getafe 1-0 up inside a minute.

But Rodrigo’s second-half treble turned the game on its head and sent them into the last four.

Molina, who got the winner in the first game, caught goalkeeper Jaume Domenech out of position at his near post for the opener.

However, Valencia showed the kind of spirit their La Liga season has been sorely lacking to fight back and progress.

The hosts thought they had equalised just after the break, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) showed that Carlos Soler was in an offside position before teeing up Santi Mina.

And it then looked like it was going to be a frustrating night at the Mestalla.

However, Rodrigo equalised on the hour for Marcelino Garcia’s side.

And when Djene Dakonam was sent off for the second time in as many games for a second booking in the 74th minute, the pendulum swung in Valencia’s favour.

At this point, the game has already grown scrappy with 12 yellow cards handed out.

Substitute Hugo Duro missed a glorious chance to seal the tie for Getafe against the run of play, before Rodrigo fired his second two minutes into added time.

Molina saw team mate Duro unintentionally block his goal-bound effort three minutes later, allowing Valencia to counter as Mina nodded the ball into the path of Rodrigo.

He then scored the third to seal a famous victory and a place in the semi-finals.

Tempers flared at the final whistle as players and coaches from both sides squared up.

In Wednesday’s quarter-final second legs, Real Beria host Espanyol after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

FC Barcelona will look to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Sevilla at the Nou Camp, before Real Madrid visit Girona with a 4-2 lead on Thursday.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Struggling Valencia frustrated by Real Valladolid

La Liga

Madrid, Jan. 12, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Ruben Alcaraz’s perfect free-kick earned Real Valladolid a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Valencia in the Spanish La Liga on Saturday as the hosts’ disappointing season continued.

Valencia dominated the game but struggled to find a breakthrough, with Real Valladolid goalkeeper Jordi Masip saving Rodrigo Moreno’s second-half penalty kick.

Santi Mina missed from close range before Valencia captain Dani Parejo eventually put his side ahead in the 71st minute.

However Alcaraz’s brilliantly-hit equaliser in the 82nd minute kept Valencia provisionally ninth, upsetting frustrated fans in the Mestalla.

A section of the fans whistled at their team at the end.

“I think the team had a great game but we were not very accurate in front of goal,” said Moreno.

“I apologise to my teammates for missing the penalty kick. We have to keep working.

“The team did great work overall. We had three great chances, and we are all a bit responsible (for not finishing them).”(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

La Liga: Alaves go fourth with victory over troubled Valencia

La Liga: Alaves go fourth with victory over troubled Valencia

La Liga

Alava (Spain), Jan. 5, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Alaves continued their excellent home form by recovering to beat struggling Spanish powerhouse Valencia 2-1 on Saturday to climb into fourth place in La Liga.

By the victory, the Basques side also boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time.

Valencia captain, Dani Parejo gave the visitors the lead with a swerving free kick in the 14th minute but Alaves soon hit back.

Striker Borja Baston pulled the 2001 UEFA Cup runners-up level in the 21st with a scrappy, deflected shot from inside the area.

Midfielder Tomas Pina put Alaves ahead in first-half stoppage time after a period of heavy pressure.

Alaves are the only side in Spain’s top flight alongside Atletico Madrid to still be unbeaten at home this season, and now has 31 points from 18 games, one ahead of European champions Real Madrid who host Real Sociedad on Sunday.

It also saw the Basques reach their highest points total in the first half of a La Liga season.

Valencia, who finished fourth last year, are 11th on 22 points. (Reuters/NAN)

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Sport

La Liga fixtures: Atletico Madrid travel to Valencia on opening day

Fixtures
Madrid, July 24, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) The 2018/2019 La Liga fixtures were announced on Tuesday, with 2017/2018 Atletico Madrid third-place finishers travelling to fourth-placed Valencia in one of the opening day’s games.

Champions FC Barcelona will host Basque outfit Alaves, while Real Madrid have a home tie against Getafe when the season kicks off on the weekend of Aug. 18 to Aug. 19.

The two Spanish giants will face off earlier this campaign, as opposed to what happened last season.

La Liga chief, Javier Tebas, had said it was “not ideal” for the second El Clasico meeting last season to be played with FC Barcelona having already won the league title.

The two giants will first meet in the Catalan capital on the weekend of Oct. 27 to Oct. 28, following both sides’ involvement in the third UEFA Champions League group game.

Meanwhile, the Bernabeu fixture will be held on the first weekend of March.

Real will host local foes Atletico at the end of September in the seventh match of the season.

They will then travel across the city for the second meeting of the season on the weekend of Feb. 9 to Feb. 10.

Other notable opening weekend fixtures see Villarreal host Real Sociedad, top division debutants Huesca visit Eibar and Celta Vigo take on Espanyol.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Remi Koleoso and Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Getafe dent Valencia’s La Liga title hopes with surprise win

NAN-S-4
La Liga
Abuja, Dec. 3, 2017 (Reuters/NAN) Getafe on Sunday dented Valencia’s Spanish La Liga title hopes with a surprise 1-0 win at Coliseum Alfonso Perez Stadium, in spite of playing 65 minutes with 10 men.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Valencia wasted the chance to close the gap with league leaders FC Barcelona to two points with the defeat.

Getafe had a goal correctly ruled out for offside in the first half when Mauro Arambarri’s distance shot was turned in by teammate Amath Ndiaye.

Moments later the home fans’ frustration grew when midfielder Arambarri was shown a second yellow card and dismissed in the 25th minute.

Getafe went ahead in the 66th minute through a distance shot from midfielder Markel Bergara which took a big deflection off former Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista.

The ball sailed over goalkeeper Neto and into the net for Valencia’s first defeat of the season.

Valencia, who were missing decisive winger Goncalo Guedes and defenders Ezequiel Garay and Jeison Murillo through injury and coach Marcelino through a touchline ban, struggled to create goalscoring chances thereafter.

Their best efforts came from a series of free kicks from captain Dani Parejo, who struck the post and was three times denied by former Valencia goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

Getafe’s goalkeeper made one final save to thwart his old side in repelling a shot from winger Carlos Soler deep in injury time.

Valencia squandered the opportunity to profit from Barca’s 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday.

They remain in second place, five points behind the Liga leaders, who have 36 after 14 games.

Marcelino’s side are only one point ahead of Atletico Madrid in third and three above Real Madrid and Sevilla who are fourth and fifth respectively.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)