Europa League Round-up: 05.11.09

Or should I say 'Poor Man's Champions League'. Apologies to any fans of Europa League clubs; I think it's fantastic for them to get extra European experience, extra revenue etc, but I´m just not buying this new gimmick. There was nothing wrong with the set-up of the old UEFA Cup, before they even introduced groups. I just fear the old UEFA Cup has totally lost it's identity in an attempt to emulate a competition they will never be able to rival. It even got to the point where Fulham rested players for a European tie. Unthinkable only a few years ago.

But that's for another time. Today, Villarreal, Valencia and Bilbao were in action from La Liga, all with differing results. Villarreal continued their phoenix from the flames impression, with another rout; this time planting four past Lazio. The 'Yellow Submarine' were even 3-0 up inside 15 minutes. The first saw Pires curl a free-kick into the box which appeared to graze Nilmar's forehead, but sailed straight into the net. A minute later Lazio were down to ten, with a harsh looking sending off for Baronio after he was adjudged to have hit Nilmar in the face. A low Cani drive and a Pires penalty put the contest out of reach. The tie was reduced to ten v ten when Gonzalo was sent off for uprooting Rocchi, but teammate Foggia smashed his penalty high off the bar. The Italians did hit one back through ex-Birmingham man Zárate in the 73rd minute, but Rossi put the icing on the Madrigal cake with another late penalty ten minutes later, to put them in a two-way fight with Lazio for second place in the group.

It´s becoming a bit of a nasty habit for Valencia; being in a position of utter dominance, only to throw it away in the dying moments. Today was impressive, even by their standards. They took a 2-0 lead through a penalty from Joaquin and a scorcher from Maduro. Their opponents, Slavia Prague, had been reduced to ten following the early shower for Senkerik on 47 minutes. There were ten minutes left, and it seemed Valencia would jet off from the Czech capital with three valuable points in the davey crocket. Yet when the final whistle blew, the Czechs had somehow levelled with goals from Janda and Grajciar, which left Unai Ememry to regret the numerous chances his men had to put the match to bed, and the loss of two points that would have had them sitting pretty at the top of the group.

Athletic Bilbao travelled to Nacional of Madeira looking to confirm their passage into the next round, but had to make do with a 1-1 draw with the Portuguese islanders. It was the tale of two penalties (how many today?!) with Nacional converting in the 64th minute through Edgar Silva and old-timer Etxeberria equalising from the spot on 85 minutes. The point puts Bilbao on the brink of qualifying for the knock-out phase, with their only worry coming from their star striker Llorente limping off after 37 minutes. Caparros will hope he's fit for the trip to Racing this weekend.