Spanish rivals Villarreal and Valencia had to settle for a goalless draw after an entertaining, high-tempo first leg of their UEFA Cup semifinal on Thursday.
Home side Villarreal, enjoying a dream debut in the competition after qualifying via the Intertoto Cup, had the better of a frenetic first half, matching Primera Liga leaders Valencia in midfield and creating a hatful of scoring chances.
PHOTO: REUTERS
But they were unable to cash in on their early domination and began to flag after the break, while Valencia stepped up a gear and came within a whisker of grabbing the winner when midfielder Ruben Baraja slammed a header against the crossbar in the 65th minute.
Villarreal, though, will remain hopeful of completing an upset against their more illustrious neighbors after they preserved their perfect home defensive record in European matches, keeping a clean sheet for a remarkable ninth time at their El Madrigal stadium.
Valencia will lose veteran Italian defender Amedeo Carboni for the second leg after he picked up a booking in the second half.
Newcastle united 0, Olympique Marseille 0
Newcastle United and Olympique Marseille also fought out a 0-0 draw in the other semifinal at St James Park earlier on Thursday.
"It was one of the most intense games we have played in the UEFA Cup this season," said Valencia coach Rafa Benitez. "It was played at a very high pace and I didn't enjoy the first half because Villarreal had too much of the play.
"We improved after the break but should have made more of our chances. Now it is up to us to try to complete the job in front of our own fans."
Opposite number Francisco "Paquito" Garcia said: "My players had a great game but we just lacked the finishing touch in front of goal."
Villarreal, who knocked out experienced European campaigners Galatasaray, Roma and Celtic on their way to the semis, signalled their attacking intentions from the kick-off and could have taken an early lead when Sonny Anderson shot over the bar.
Valencia were quick to reply and live-wire winger Vicente was denied in the 12th minute when Villarreal keeper Pepe Reina diverted his point-blank shot.
There was no respite as the two sides constantly traded attacks and wasted little time in midfield as they sought to catch each other out on the break.
Villarreal's Juan Roman Riquelme sent dipping a free kick over the bar and Valencia keeper Santiago Canizares had to react quickly to tip two in-swinging corners from Roger over the bar.
Valencia took control after the break as Miguel Angel Angulo and Vicente went close and Baraja rattled the bar.
Villarreal had to weather some intense pressure in the final 10 minutes as Valencia peppered the goal with a succession of shots from the edge of the area, but they held firm to leave the tie wide open.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS