Athletic Bilbao earned a last-minute winner at the San Memes to take them to Bucharest, while Atletico Madrid’s tie against Valencia was settled far earlier.
Sergio Canales Out Six Months With Torn ACL
VALENCIA, SPAIN - AUGUST 27: Sergio Canales of Valencia in action during the La Liga match between Valencia and Racing de Santander at Estadio Mestalla on August 27, 2011 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images) Getty ImagesSergio Canalas faces six months on the sideline after suffering his second knee injury of the season.
The 21-year old who is on a two-year loan with Valencia from Real Madrid, was stretchered off in second half of Los Che’s Europa League semi final against Atletico Madrid. It was confirmed today by Valencia’s medical chief Jordi Candel that Canalas suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Read Article >Athletic Bilbao Vs. Sporting Lisbon, 2012 Europa League: Final Score 3-1 Athletic, Last Minute Llorente Goal Sees Hosts Through
Sporting always looked dangerous though, and Ricky van Wolfswinkel seemed to have ensured that the tie would enter halftime with the balance tipped in his team’s direction when he slammed a 44th minute leveller in from 15 yards to clinch a vital away goal and put the visitors 3-2 up on aggregate. That lead lasted all of a minute - Llorente played in Ibai Gomez and the forward finished deftly to make things all square.
That was the state of play for most of the second half. Athletic were the better side and nearly took the lead when Llorente rattled the post with a good header from a corner kick, but Sporting were always threatening to break whenever their hosts attacked, and another goal for the Portuguese would have left Athletic needing to score two. It made for a tense, slightly cagey affair - the second half didn’t reach the heights of the first by any means, but it also meant that any goal was going to be an absolutely monumental one.
Read Article >Valencia Vs. Atletico Madrid, 2012 Europa League: Final Score 1-0 Atletico, Visitors Advance To Final
It looked like they were going to get one when Tiago was penalised for handball in the area - despite it being a Valencia player who touched the ball. After a few minutes of madness, however, it was the visitors who emerged with a free kick. The original decision was overruled, but Tiago was sent off anyway for a silly slap on Roberto Soldado when he still through the penalty was being given.
It was an ugly moment, but I’m not sure Atletico will care too much - they were able to hold out with ten men to advance to the Europa League final with a 5-2 aggregate win. They will meet Athletic Bilbao in Bucharest.
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