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UEFA Cup semi-final second leg 1 - 0 16' [1 - 0] from 11 meters
Meanwhile, I, Artūras Salda, thank everyone who followed the course of this intriguing and beautiful match together. Congratulations to all "Valencia" fans and I wish you a good night.
The final will be played on May 19, Wednesday, in Gothenburg, Sweden. The match will take place at the "Nya Ullevi" stadium.
The referee signals the end of the match, meaning "Valencia" advances to the UEFA Cup final, where they will meet the footballers of "Marseille", who today won 2-0 against "Newcastle".
90+3' Baraja fouls Rogero. Time is ticking away. All of Valencia's fans in the stadium await the referee's whistle.
90+2' Belleti breaks through on the right flank, but his cross is calmly caught by Canizares.
90+1' Coloccini receives a YELLOW CARD for bringing down Xisco Munoz.
90+1' A festive atmosphere reigns in the "La Mestalla" stadium. "Valencia" once again in a European tournament final. The last time they did this was in the 2000/2001 season. Then they played in the Champions League final, but finished second.
90' Sonny Anderson finds himself on the sidelines. Time is running out to score a goal.
89' Villareal earns a corner, but doesn't create any danger.
87' Villareal tries to press Valencia, as they need to score one goal to reach the UEFA Cup final. However, Valencia is defending excellently against the opponent's attacks.
86' With very little time left until the end of the match, Villareal's coach decides to make a substitution. Guayre replaces Josico on the field.
84' Vicente is brought down near the Villareal penalty area. The resulting free-kick is cleared out of play. Corner kick.
83' Pablo Aimar breaks into the opponents' penalty area, but his pass is intercepted by Villareal defenders at the last moment.
79' Vicente breaks into the opponents' penalty area, but fails to get past the Argentine Coloccini.
78' Scorer of the only goal, Mista, is substituted. In his place, Pablo Aimar, who has recovered from injury, appears on the field.
77' Mista misses the opportunity to double the score as he fails to hit the goal from six meters out. A great pass from Vicente, who came on as a substitute.
75' Riquelme misses the goal.
74' Another substitution on the field. Pellegrino replaces Marchena.
73' Albelda strikes fiercely from 18 meters, but it doesn't cause major problems for Reina.
72' The shot hits the players' wall.
71' Sonny Anderson earns a penalty kick near the hosts' penalty area.
69' Valencia takes the initiative into their hands and creates dangerous attacks one after another.
65' Jose Mari manages to get past Valencia defenders, but his shot from 18 meters flies over the goal.
63' Jose Mari dribbles past Spanish national team player Carlos Marchena, but the referee signals a foul by Jose Mari himself.
62' Quique Alvarez receives a YELLOW CARD.
62' The first substitution in the match takes place. Young talent "Momo" Sissoko, who had a great game, is replaced by Vicente. It seems that Benitez wants to strengthen the left wing. Vicente has scored 11 goals in the Spanish championship this season and one in the UEFA Cup. His contribution to the team is clearly noticeable. This year, he is considered the best Valencia player because he not only scores goals, but also provided 10 assists to his teammates.
61' Baraja receives a YELLOW CARD.
59' Valencia confuses the Villareal defense during a quick counterattack, but ultimately the visitors defend successfully.
57' Sonny Anderson turns in the opponents' penalty area and shoots suddenly, but misses the goal.
56' Sissoko doesn't reach a long pass from Angulo.
54' Valencia doesn't want to take risks and clears the ball from Jose Mari's feet. Corner kick.
51' Valencia had a fantastic opportunity to double the lead. Mista passes the ball to Xisco Munoz in the penalty area, but he shoots straight at Reina.
50' Jose Mari breaks through on the right flank, but his cross is intercepted by Valencia.
48' Villareal holds the ball waiting for a better opportunity to attack, but the crossed ball goes out of play.
46' The second half begins. Xisco Munoz commits a foul while attacking.
The referee announces the end of the first half.
45+1' Mista is offside again.
45' Sissoko wins a penalty kick near the Villareal penalty area.
43' Mista fouls Belletti in the middle of the field.
41' Both teams try to play openly, but their passes usually don't reach the target.
39' Battaglia fouls Mista, who stays on the ground for a while, but it seems that the forward is fine and continues playing.
38' Villareal create a great attack. Roger crosses the ball, Anderson misses it, and Jose Mari's shot is blocked by a great reaction from Canizares.
37' Sissoko shoots from 20 meters, but the ball flies over the crossbar.
36' Marchena receives a YELLOW CARD. He fouls Belletti.
33' Sissoko is fouled in the Villareal penalty area, but the referee signals play on.
32' Xisco and Mista play well together, but the ball goes wide of the goal.
31' Several dangerous moments near the hosts' goal. Jose Mari and Battaglia create sharp situations, but Valencia's defense and goalkeeper do a great job.
29' Villareal is blocking Valencia's attacks well for now.
28' Valencia's goalkeeper has a lot of work to do. Jose Mari receives Belletti's cross, but heads the ball straight at Canizares.
27' Sonny Anderson shoots from 20 meters, but Canizares reacts superbly once again.
26' Canizares makes a great save on Jose Mari's shot, but the ball bounces back to the Spaniard and this time his shot flies wide of the goal.
24' Curro Torres exchanges passes with Sissoko, but his shot goes over the goal.
23' A penalty kick from a dangerous position on the left side is awarded near Villareal's goal. Belletti fouls Xisco Munoz.
22' The referee scolds Garrido for illegally stopping Jose Mari, but doesn't show a card.
20' Jose Mari earns a corner kick near Valencia's goal.
18' The score almost became equal. Momo's header misses just beside their own goal.
16' Valencia leads 1-0! Mista scores a penalty from 11 meters.
15' Mista is brought down in the penalty area and the referee awards a penalty kick to Villareal from eleven meters. Belletti fouled Mista in an aerial duel.
13' Sonny Anderson has another chance, but he shoots the ball into the air from the penalty area and defenders manage to clear it.
12' Valencia attacks again, but the referee signals an offside.
11' Baraja shoots from distance, but misses the goal.
10' Villareal starts to get into the game. Battaglia shoots from 25 meters, but Canizares saves easily.
8' Villareal manages to relieve the pressure, but Sonny Anderson fails to control the ball and it falls to the hosts.
6' Villareal is pinned back near their own goal and has to keep clearing the ball out of play.
6' Albelda passes the ball to the free Mista up front, who avoids the goalkeeper and passes the ball, but it's blocked by defenders.
5' Curro Torres shoots from a corner kick, but Reina successfully parries the shot.
4' Xisco crosses the ball from the left, and Reina, fighting with Mista, opts not to take any risks and punches the ball out of bounds. Corner kick.
2' Valencia initiates the first attack. A long pass from deep inside the field, but the disrupted Villareal defenders manage to clear the ball. In the subsequent attack, Momo fouls Quique Alvarez.
1' The referee announces the start of the match. Looking at the "Valencia" lineup, we can see that both team leaders - Pablo Aimar and Vicente Rodriguez - are missing from the lineup. It is unknown how this will affect the team's play, but these two players are the main organizers of the team's attacks. However, I can please "Valencia" fans by announcing that both of these players are sitting on the substitutes' bench. Rafael Benitez's decision to include young Mohamed "Momo" Sissoko in the starting lineup looks quite interesting.
The match is officiated by a refereeing team from Norway, with the main referee being Terje Hauge.
So, the lineups for both teams are now clear. They are presented at the bottom of the news.
While we consider the Spanish league leaders "Valencia" as the favorites in this match, "Villareal" has a very strong asset - they are not under pressure from fans or management - they have already achieved a lot this year, surprising everyone by reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals. Prior to this, the Villareal team defeated giants such as "Roma" and "Celtic".
A huge loss for "Valencia" could occur if it turns out that team leader Vicente cannot play due to the flu.
Good evening, dear Eurofootball.com visitors. As you might have already understood, today we are providing live commentary from both UEFA Cup semi-finals.
Team lineups
"Valencia": Canizares, Ayala, Marchena, Garrido, Curro Torres, Sissoko, Albelda, Baraja, Angulo, Mista, Xisco Munoz
Substitutes: Oliveira, Sanchez, Aimar, Canobbio, Vicente, Pellegrino, Rangel
"Villareal": Reina, Cases, Belletti, Arruabarrena, Quique Alvarez, Roger, Josico, Riquelme, Sonny Anderson, Battaglia, José Mari
Substitutes: Victor, Guayre, Arzo, Tena, Javi Venta, Marti, López Vallejo
