Radamel Falcao scored a brace to help Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 4-2 in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday, while Sporting Lisbon rallied to earn a 2-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao.
Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 4-2 while Sporting Lisbon remained undefeated in European home games this season after a 2-1 comeback win over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday.
Atletico dominated fellow Spanish rival Valencia at Vicente Calderon Stadium in one of the 2010 champion's finest performances under coach Diego Simeone that featured Radamel Falcao netting his 31st and 32nd goals of the season.
''Of course I am happy for the goals, but the important thing is that we won in such a commanding fashion,'' Falcao said.
Bilbao takes home Jon Aurtenetxe's valuable away goal and will try to rebound in next week's second leg to set up an all-Spanish final on May 9 in Bucharest, Romania.
Atletico bossed the match from the start and deservedly went ahead 18 minutes in through Falcao's opener.
Forward Arda Turan fought to win possession on the right flank and picked out Falcao in the area to turn his cross into the net with a sharp header.
Valencia snatched an equalizer three minutes into first-half injury time when Jonas fired home a corner flicked on by Adil Rami.
Miranda put Atletico back in front four minutes after the restart with a header, and striker Adrian Lopez made it 3-1 in the 54th with a superb individual effort.
Falcao then scored his second goal with an unstoppable left-footed blast that clipped the underside of the bar before finding the back of the net in the 78th.
''The triumph isn't definitive, but we have to be content with the result,'' said Simeone.
Falcao's double leveled him with Schalke's Klass-Jan Huntelaar as the tournament's top scorers this season with 10 each. The Colombia striker, who won the Europa League last season with Porto, is the competition's all-time leading scorer with 23 goals in 23 appearances.
Valencia defender Ricardo Costa scored with another header off a corner four minutes into stoppage time.
''The goal in the final minute gives us hope we can turn this around,'' said Valencia's Roberto Soldado. ''Mestalla Stadium will be fundamental to try and rebound to make the final.''
