Valencia 2 - 4 Arsenal: London party
(Baonghean.vn) - Aubameyang shined with a hat-trick and Lacazette's goal helped Arsenal beat Valencia 4-2 (7-3 on aggregate) after two matches. The London "Gunners" convincingly advanced to the Europa League final.
Valencia will host Arsenal in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final at the Mestalla Stadium after losing 1-3 to the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium. However, an away goal will give the Bats a chance to stage a comeback against the English side.
In La Liga, after 36 rounds, Valencia is only in 5th place and has not entered the top teams to win tickets to the Champions League next season. Therefore, they will have high expectations for this year's Europa League.
With Arsenal almost certainly out of the top 4 after a disappointing draw against Brighton last weekend, this will also be the only chance for Emery's team to win a title and have a place in Europe's top competition next season, which is enough to see the heat spreading from this confrontation.
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Aubameyang shined with a hat-trick against Valencia. Photo: Getty |
Despite creating a 2-goal lead in the first leg, the Gunners entered the match very cautiously and confidently. The obvious lessons from Liverpool's comebacks against Barca or Tottenham's comeback against Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals are certainly a warning for coach Unai Emery's students.
In the 11th minute of the match, the home team Valencia opened the scoring. In a high-speed counter-attack on the left wing, Rodrigo crossed the ball easily for striker Gameiro to tap the ball into the net. In the excitement, Valencia continued to attack but could not create many opportunities.
With the representative from England, the "Gunners" equalized the score just 6 minutes after conceding a goal.
In the 17th minute, Lacazette jumped high to head the ball for Aubameyang to escape and finish dangerously, bringing the match back to the starting line.
At the end of the first half, the two teams tied 1-1, the advantage now leaning towards the representative from England with a total score after two matches of (2-4).
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Valencia players (in white) could not create a miracle against the representative from England. Photo: Getty |
In the second half, when the home team pushed up their formation in search of a goal but had no results, they conceded a goal in the 50th minute after a chaotic situation in front of the goal. Lacazette maneuvered very well in Valencia's penalty area before finishing with a tricky shot that defeated goalkeeper Neto: 1 - 2 for Arsenal.
Valencia rekindled some hope with an equalizer eight minutes later. When Rodrigo finished from the second line, Gameiro ran in and made a close-range pass, leaving goalkeeper Cech helpless. The score was 2-2 (the aggregate score was now 5-3).
In the 69th minute of the match, Arsenal once again took the lead when Maitland-Niles handled the ball very well on the right wing before crossing into the penalty area for Aubameyang to rush in and finish past goalkeeper Neto. The score was 2 - 3 in favor of Arsenal (the aggregate score after two matches is 6 - 3).
In the 89th minute of the match, it was Aubameyang who put an end to all the efforts of the home team Valencia, when he successfully took advantage of the opportunity created by the substitute player Mkhitaryan. After a smart pass that tore apart Valencia's defense, Aubameyang escaped and finished with a very classy and dangerous shot from a close range. The score was 2 - 4 in favor of Arsenal.
At the end of the away match, Arsenal won with a score of 4 - 2 (7 - 3 on aggregate). Arsenal is the team that advances, Arsenal's opponent in the Europa League final is the team from the same city Chelsea.
The match took place on May 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Goal
Valencia:Kevin Gameiro (11'. 58')
Arsenal:Aubameyang (17', 69', 89'); Lacazette (50')
Line-up:
Valencia:Neto, Piccini, Gabriel, Garay, Gaya, Wass, Parejo, Coquelin, Guedes, Gameiro, Rodrigo
Arsenal:Cech, Nacho, Sokratis, Koscielny, Maitland-Niles, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Torreira, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette