March 29, 2024, 4:45 pm


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Published:
2019-11-07 00:29:08 BdST

Valencia come back to beat Lille 4-1 in Champions League


Valencia kept their hopes of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League very much alive on Tuesday night when Albert Celades' side fought back from a goal down to beat Lille 4-1 in the Mestalla Stadium.
Lille opened the scoring in the 26th minute when their Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen collected a through ball and kept his nerve before slotting his shot past Jasper Cillessen.


Both keepers made decent saves in the closing minutes of the first half, but Valencia were level in the 66th minute after Jose Fonte was penalized for handball and Dani Parejo kept his calm to chip the penalty home with Lille keeper Mike Maignan diving the wrong way.


The home side took the lead with a stroke of fortune when Lille defender sliced the ball into his own net when trying to clear a cross from Jose Gaya in the 82nd minute and two minutes later when Geoffrey Kondogbia fired home from distance.
With Lille falling apart there was still time for one more goal for the Spaniards as Ferran Torres, who had replaced the injured Denis Cheryshev in the first half, collected a pass from Parejo before calming beating the keeper.


The win coupled with the thrilling 4-4 draw between Chelsea and Ajax in Stamford Bridge leaves all three teams level on seven points ahead of Chelsea's visit to Valencia on November 27.
Earlier in the day FC Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw in the Camp Nou Stadium by Slavia Prague.

Both teams had the ball in their rivals' net during the game, but the efforts from Arturo Vidal for Barca and Jan Boril for Slavia were both ruled out for offside.
Slavia goalkeeper Odrej Kolar made a series of excellent saves to deny Leo Messi, Nelson Semedo, Sergi Roberto, and Gerard Pique, who picked up a booking that means he will miss the vital game against Borussia Dortmund on November 27.
It is the first time in 45 games that Barca have failed to score in front of their fans since they were held 0-0 by Getafe on February 11, 2018.

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