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Valencia swing Copa del Rey tie in their favour with late goal against Las Palmas

Valencia nab late goal to dampen Las Palmas spirits
Valencia snatch a late away goal in a 1-1 draw with Las Palmas to put them in a good position to reach the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.

Valencia salvaged a 1-1 draw with Las Palmas thanks to a late goal from Rodrigo in their Copa del Rey last-16 tie on Wednesday night.

Jonathan Calleri's first-half goal initially separated the two sides at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, but the away goal means that Valencia are favourites to make it through to the quarter-finals in the second leg on home soil.

The visitors thought that they had taken the lead inside the first 11 minutes when Ezequiel Garay sent the ball past the goalkeeper, but the referee blew up for a foul.

The tables turned when Las Palmas took the lead through Calleri, who connected with Borja Herrera's pass before sliding the ball into the bottom right corner.

At the other end, Valencia tried to find a quick equaliser when Santi Mina moved towards the edge of the box before unleashing a thumping effort, which forced a save from Leandro Chichizola.

Neither side peppered the respective goalkeepers with chances as the half went on, which was even more frustrating for the visitors given their status in La Liga.

The club currently sit third in the standings, while La Palmas are rooted to the bottom of the table, four points from safety after 17 games.

In the final 15 minutes, Valencia ramped up the pace, with Simone Zaza receiving a whipped-in ball into the box, which he met with a header but sent it over the crossbar.

Eventually, the equaliser came in the 85th minute when Rodrigo got on the end of Antonio Latorre's ball in the box before smashing it into the bottom right corner.

Zaza could have won the game for Valencia in the dying moments of the match had he not missed the target with a header, but his team remain in a good position to make it into the quarter-finals.

Las Palmas (4-2-3-1): Chichizola; Simon, Galvez, Bigas, Herrera (Navarro 73'); Aquilani (Castellano 63'), Samper (Toledo 88'); Tana, Viera, Momo; Calleri

Valencia (4-4-2): Domenech; Montoya, Garay, Vezo, Latorre; Pereira (Rodrigo 59'), Kondogbia (Parejo 46'), Maksimovic, Gil de Pereja Vincent; Mina (Guedes 66'), Zaza

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Ernesto Valverde head coach of Athletic Bilbao during the first leg of UEFA Champions League qualifying play-offs round match between SSC Napoli and Athletic Club on August 19, 2014
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona12110140112933
2Real Madrid1173121111024
3Atletico MadridAtletico126511871123
4Villarreal116322019121
5Osasuna126331716121
6Athletic Bilbao125431812619
7Real BetisBetis125431210219
8Mallorca12534109118
9Rayo Vallecano114431210216
10Celta Vigo125161820-216
11Real Sociedad124351010015
12GironaGirona124351517-215
13Sevilla124351217-515
14AlavesAlaves124171419-513
15Leganes122551216-411
16Getafe12174810-210
17Espanyol123181122-1110
18Las PalmasLas Palmas122371321-89
19Real ValladolidValladolid12228924-158
20Valencia11146817-97


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