Valencia denied in thriller
A contentious late penalty denied Valencia victory in its Primera Liga clash at home to Villarreal - and moved runaway leader Barcelona a step closer to the title.
Giuseppe Rossi converted from the spot in the 84th minute after Joan Capdevila had tumbled under a soft but untidy challenge from Joaquin to earn Villarreal a 3-3 draw at the Mestalla on Saturday.
Substitute Edu had headed Valencia in front five minutes earlier as Villarreal’s stirring rally from two goals down looked like it would go unrewarded.
Two early efforts from Ruben Baraja and David Villa had Valencia up and running within 10 minutes, but the Yellow Submarine replied through Fabricio Fuentes on the stroke of halftime and Joseba Llorente in the 77th minute.
Llorente’s goal was the first of three in seven minutes, and the home side’s failure to hold on to its leads saw it slip to third, 10 points behind Barca.
That gap is likely to increase with the Catalans visiting basement boys Osasuna on Sunday.
Sevilla moved up to second, a point ahead of Valencia, after a second-half comeback earned it a 3-1 win at in-form Deportivo La Coruna.
The visitors looked down and out at halftime, trailing to Rafael Bodipo’s strike and a man light following the sending off of Enzo Maresca for a cynical elbow on the Depor frontman just before the break.
But it defeated the same opposition in the first leg of its Copa del Rey last-16 tie on Wednesday, and did so again tonight thanks in no small part to the halftime introduction of Frederic Kanoute.
The Mali striker set up Luis Fabiano (50) and then Renato (78) as Sevilla turned the game on its head before Diego Capel sealed the comeback in injury time.