Valencia serve up goal feast

Barcelona left themselves with another mammoth second leg task in the Champions League as they were trounced 4-1 by Valencia in their all-Spanish semi-final first leg clash in Valencia last night.

Barcelona, who had to overcome a 3-1 deficit in their quarter-final first leg game against Chelsea, will have to do even better next Wednesday in the Nou Camp after being comprehensively outplayed by their opponents from down the coast.

Miguel Angel Angulo put his side ahead on 10 minutes, added a second three minutes before the break after Barcelona had equalised with a Mauricio Pellegrino own goal and earned a penalty for Gaizka Mendieta to make it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time.

Barcelona, perhaps fancying their chances at 3-1, attacked only fitfully in the second half and paid the price in injury-time as Claudio Lopez struck from close range to complete a commanding victory that leaves them as strong favourites to make the final in Paris on May 24th.

Barcelona will take comfort, however, from the fact that they have already beaten Valencia 3-0 on home territory in the league this season - a result that would be enough to send the Catalans through to a final against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, who meet in the second semi-final tonight.

Angulo, whose heroic two-goal display had Barcelona on the ropes by half-time, said afterwards: "We played some of the best football we have done all season.

"I was a little worried when the score was only 3-1 because we know that Barcelona can come back from that, and a goal away from home is important, but that fourth goal should be a big psychological blow."

Valencia, playing with the same attacking fluency that had seen them overwhelm Lazio 5-2 in their quarter-final home match, started at breakneck speed, harrying Barcelona in their own half and looking to expose their three-man defence on the flanks.

And their early pressure paid off in the 10th minute as Angulo took advantage of a nervous Barcelona defence. Mendieta's persistence won a corner on the right which he took himself, a gentle outswinger. Neither Ruud Hesp nor his defenders managed to clear properly and Angulo lashed the ball in from around the penalty spot.

Barcelona were stung into action and a Rivaldo header forced a fine reaction save from Canizares a minute later.

Valencia came close to a second on 24 minutes as Kily Gonzalez hit the post after breaking down the right. Lopez beat Hesp with the follow-up but his effort was ruled out for an earlier foul on Carles Puyol.

If Barcelona were fortunate in that moment they received an even bigger slice of luck to draw level after 27 minutes. Rivaldo slipped a deflected pass out to Boudewijn Zenden, who skipped past Jocelyn Angloma and sent in a near post cross that Patrick Kluivert never looked like reaching.

The ball was there for Canizares to claim but Pellegrino slid in only for his attempted clearance to fly into the net.

Then followed three desperate minutes for Barcelona at the end of the half, as Angulo added his second with a near post flick after Gonzalez had got clear down the left again and Mendieta converted the spot kick following a Puyol foul on Angulo.

With the game heading for a 3-1 finish and a tense night in the Nou Camp for Valencia, Lopez then struck off a post to leave Valencia on course to knock Barcelona out of a European competition for the third time in three attempts.

A delighted Valencia coach, Hector Cuper, said: "We didn't give Barcelona any space to play early in the match and that helped us with our first-half goals. We put a lot of pressure on them."

Barcelona's Louis van Gaal was in phlegmatic mood afterwards: "Football's like that. Anything is still possible. It's going to be difficult but we always have hope."

VALENCIA: Canizares, Pellegrino, Djukic, Carboni, Angloma, Mendieta, Farinos, Gerard (Sanchez 83), Gonzalez, Angulo (Albelda 78), Lopez. Subs not used: Bartual, Molina, Bjorklund, Oscar, Ilie, Gerardo. Booked: Farinos. Goals: Angulo 10, 43, Mendieta 45 pen, Lopez 90.

BARCELONA: Hesp, Reiziger, F de Boer, Puyol (Bogarde 46), Guardiola, Cocu, Zenden (Simao 75), Rivaldo, Gabri, Kluivert, Dani (Litmanen 61). Subs not used: Arnau, Abelardo, Sergi, Xavi. Booked: Puyol, Gabri. Goals: Pellegrino 27 og.

Referee: U Meier (Switzerland).