Late Xavi goal earns Barca a draw

MADRID – Xavi scored a dramatic last-minute equaliser to earn Barcelona a 1-1 draw at home to Valencia in their King’s Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

Valencia looked to have completed a classic smash-and-grab raid at the Nou Camp when David Villa finished off a 70th minute counter-attack after Barca had dominated the game. Valencia’s German keeper Timo Hildebrand was in inspired form as Barca put on a late surge, but midfielder Xavi levelled in stoppage time to leave the tie evenly-balanced before the return leg on March 20.Last year’s finalists Getafe host Racing Santander in the second semi-final on Thursday.A breathless opening saw 24-times winners Barca have three shots blocked in succession while Valencia had a goal disallowed inside the first 10 minutes.But it quickly settled into a game of cat and mouse as the visitors defended deep in their own half and the home side controlled possession.Barca had few sights of goal until after the break when Hildebrand took centre-stage, twice denying Argentina forward Lionel Messi before Valencia struck.Ronald Koeman’s side broke forward with pace and Angel Arizmendi crossed low to the near post for Spain striker Villa to finish past Victor Valdes.That sparked an all-out assault on Valencia’s area but, as the minutes ticked by, Hildebrand and his defenders looked to have weathered the storm.In the fourth minute of time added on, Samuel Eto’o surged into the area, controlling the ball with his hand at one point, and fired goalwards.Again Hildebrand saved, but Xavi caught the rebound and blasted through a crowded area into the far bottom corner to extend Barca’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games.Nampa-ReutersValencia’s German keeper Timo Hildebrand was in inspired form as Barca put on a late surge, but midfielder Xavi levelled in stoppage time to leave the tie evenly-balanced before the return leg on March 20.Last year’s finalists Getafe host Racing Santander in the second semi-final on Thursday.A breathless opening saw 24-times winners Barca have three shots blocked in succession while Valencia had a goal disallowed inside the first 10 minutes.But it quickly settled into a game of cat and mouse as the visitors defended deep in their own half and the home side controlled possession.Barca had few sights of goal until after the break when Hildebrand took centre-stage, twice denying Argentina forward Lionel Messi before Valencia struck.Ronald Koeman’s side broke forward with pace and Angel Arizmendi crossed low to the near post for Spain striker Villa to finish past Victor Valdes.That sparked an all-out assault on Valencia’s area but, as the minutes ticked by, Hildebrand and his defenders looked to have weathered the storm.In the fourth minute of time added on, Samuel Eto’o surged into the area, controlling the ball with his hand at one point, and fired goalwards.Again Hildebrand saved, but Xavi caught the rebound and blasted through a crowded area into the far bottom corner to extend Barca’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games.Nampa-Reuters