A clinical display of attacking football took Arsenal FC into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the second time in their history at the expense of ten-man Villarreal CF.

Dominant display
Arsenal’s success in this competition has been founded on their solid defence, which is still to concede in five home matches in the competition this season, although it was their prowess at the other end which proved too much for the visitors. Having taken the initiative in the tie with last week’s 1-1 draw in Spain, well-worked goals early in each half from Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor put the home team in complete command, Robin van Persie adding a third from the penalty spot after Sebastián Eguren had been dismissed.

Walcott chip
Arsenal came into the match on the back of an 18-match Premier League unbeaten run and perhaps inevitably their early play carried an air of considerable confidence with Cesc Fàbregas, Walcott and Van Persie all prominent. Walcott sent one dangerous centre across the face of goal before Van Persie nodded Samir Nasri’s cross over, but the visitors failed to heed the warning signs and duly fell behind in the tenth minute. Fàbregas applied the faintest of touches to Emmanuel Eboué’s pass yet it was nevertheless enough to wrong foot the Villarreal defence, leaving Walcott to race clear and beat Diego López with a sublime chip.

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Emmanuel Adebayor’s brilliant overhead effort cancelled out an equally spectacular strike from Marcos Senna to put Arsenal FC in a strong position in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Villarreal CF.

Stunning strikes
The Spanish side, keen to erase the memories of their semi-final defeat against these opponents three years ago, started at quickfire pace and took the lead ten minutes in, Senna unleashing an unstoppable drive from 25 metres. Arsenal lost goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and William Gallas to injury before the first half was over, but for the third time in as many meetings the Yellow Submarine could not quite impose themselves on the Gunners, Adebayor’s instinctive effort midway through the second period giving the visitors a priceless away goal to take into next week’s return in north London.

Fine opener
Villarreal were quickly into their stride and soon claimed a goal which would have been fit to win the tournament itself, Giuseppe Rossi drawing sufficient attention to give his captain time and space to collect his short pass. Senna had not scored for more than five months but his aim was unerring, a lethal right-root shot finding the top corner of the net. Almunia was blameless then but his evening was to deteriorate further as, having damaged his right ankle in an early challenge with Rossi, he limped off after 28 minutes to be replaced by Łukasz Fabiański for only his second appearance in the competition.

Adebayor Acrobatics Give Arsenal The Edge … read more »

Ariel Ibagaza scored one and set up a decisive second for substitute Joseba Llorente as Villarreal CF earned a hard-fought victory against Panathinaikos FC in Athens to secure a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Crucial strike
Manuel Pellegrini’s side reached the last four on their competition debut in 2005/06 and remain on course to emulate that despite going into tonight with a minor disadvantage having conceded an away goal in the 1-1 first-leg draw. Ibagaza ensured that would not prove telling when he broke the deadlock with a venomous strike soon after half-time and, though Vangelis Mantzios swiftly equalised, Llorente rounded off an Ibagaza-led counterattack with 20 minutes left to seal Villarreal’s place in next Friday’s draw.

Early passion
Panathinaikos coach Henk ten Cate had insisted passion and desire would be needed in abundance and there was plenty of both on display in the opening exchanges. Mantzios, back in the side for the first time since straining a knee ligament in the sides’ encounter a fortnight ago, showed glimpses of skill with a couple of neat twists and turns as the hosts dominated without ever really penetrating the visitors’ back line. Instead it was Villarreal who registered the first shot on target through Nihat Kahveci, but the Turkish striker’s reflex effort was easily gathered by Mario Galinović.

Clinical Villarreal Put Paid To Panathinaikos … read more »

Villarreal CF preserved their proud unbeaten record at El Madrigal in the UEFA Champions League but surrendered a crucial away goal in drawing with Panathinaikos FC.

All-square
The result of this first knockout round first-leg tie could have been worse for the Spanish team, however, as they wasted a number of opportunities while continuing this season’s statistic of conceding over a goal a game in Europe. After controlling much of the play, the Yellow Submarine fell behind to a superb long-range strike from Giorgos Karagounis, before Robert Pirès was tripped for a penalty converted by Giuseppe Rossi.

Pattern of play
With the Greek visitors fulfilling pre-match predictions by lining up with five at the back, the home side set their pattern early. Pushing high up the pitch as often as possible, they profited from Santi Cazorla and Ariel Ibagaza exchanging quick passes and buzzing at the Panathinaikos defence. It almost brought a goal when the two enabled Ángel López to send Joseba Llorente sprinting into the box but Mario Galinović made a fine stop with his legs.

Rossi To The Rescue For Villarreal … read more »

FC Barcelona came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory at Villarreal CF and open up a ten-point buffer in the Spanish Liga after Sevilla FC could only manage a goalless draw at RCD Mallorca earlier on Sunday.

Cani opener
Thierry Henry and Giuseppe Rossi missed good chances for either side in the first half at El Madrigal but Cani sprung the offside trap within three minutes of the restart when he latched on to a through ball from Rossi and neatly clipped his finish over Víctor Valdés to open the scoring. However, the advantage did not last long as Barça swept forwards on 54 minutes and Daniel Alves looped in a right-wing cross that Seydou Keita bravely headed in under pressure from goalkeeper Diego López.

Nervous finish
Henry completed the turnaround when he applied the finish to a pinpoint Xavi Hernández cross after the midfielder had accelerated to the edge of the Villarreal area. The Catalan club were made to cling on, though, when Gerard Piqué was sent off on 75 minutes and Guille Franco spurned a fine late chance.

Deportivo delight
Sevilla had the chance to generate a three-point gap over Club Atlético de Madrid and Valencia CF in second place but they failed to unlock a spirited Mallorca rearguard. RC Deportivo La Coruña consolidated seventh spot with an emphatic 4-1 success at home to struggling RC Recreativo de Huelva, their fourth win in five Liga encounters.

Goal sprees
Two other sides with relegation fears fared better thanks to an abundance of goals. Basement side CA Osasuna led the way with five different scorers in their 5-2 victory at home to Getafe CF while hosts CD Numancia scored three times in the final five minutes to turn a 3-1 deficit into a success against Real Valladolid CF. Elsewhere, Real Sporting de Gijón overcame UD Almería 1-0, Athletic Club Bilbao won by the same score at Real Betis Balompié and Real Racing Club drew 1-1 with Málaga CF.