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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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Danielle Joynson
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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
1Barcelona29213582285466
2Real Madrid29196462293363
3Atletico MadridAtletico29169447232457
4Athletic Bilbao291411446242253
5Villarreal28138751391247
6Real BetisBetis2913884036447
7Rayo Vallecano29101093331240
8Celta Vigo29117114242040
9Mallorca29117112835-740
10Real Sociedad29115132731-438
11Getafe2999112625136
12Sevilla2999113339-636
13GironaGirona2997133745-834
14Osasuna2971393342-934
15Valencia29710123246-1431
16Espanyol2878132740-1329
17AlavesAlaves2969143244-1227
18Leganes2969142846-1827
19Las PalmasLas Palmas2968153348-1526
20Real ValladolidValladolid2944211965-4616


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