VALENCIA, Spain (AP) ― Lionel Messi missed a penalty as Barcelona was held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday.
Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves dived to his left to stop Messi’s 56th-minute spot kick after Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara had been fouled inside the area.
Valencia made a better start in the match and scored first when Jeremy Mathieu sent a pass between Barcelona defenders for Jonas to rifle the ball into the top corner in the 27th.
The visitors equalized eight minutes later when Carles Puyol headed a corner past Alves, who was caught out of position.
Athletic Bilbao leads third-tier club Mirandes 2-1 in the other semifinal.
 |
Sunderland’s Ji Dong-won (left) replaces Frazier Campbell during a Premier League match on Wednesday. (AFP-Yonhap News) |
England
Clint Dempsey scored his 10th league goal of the season and 16th overall, giving Fulham a 1-1 tie with West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night.
Dempsey put the Cottagers ahead in the 69th minute with a right-footed shot from 15 yards following a through pass by Bryan Ruiz. Somen Tchoyi tied the score in the 82nd, five minutes after entering.
A 28-year-old Texan, Dempsey had a pair of hat tricks last month, including the first by an American in the Premier League, and has 11 goals in 13 games since the start of December. He played at forward following the transfer of Bobby Zamora to Queens Park Rangers a day earlier.
Arsenal (11-8-4) missed a chance to close on the top four and a Champions League berth, tying 0-0 at relegation-threatened Bolton (6-15-2). The Gunners dropped to seventh while Newcastle (11-6-6) climbed to fifth, three points behind Chelsea, with a 2-0 victory at Blackburn on Scott Dann’s own goal and Gabriel Obertan’s 90th-minute score.
Sunderland (8-9-6) kept up its revival under manager Martin O’Neill by defeating Norwich 3-0 on goals by Frazier Campbell and Stephane Sessegnon, and an own goal by Daniel Ayala, to move into eighth.
 |
Inter Milan midfielder Esteban Cambiasso threads through Palermo’s defense on Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap News) |
Italy
Diego Milito scored four goals in Inter Milan’s 4-4 draw with Palermo played under snowfall at San Siro, and AC Milan wasted a chance to take the Serie A lead with a 2-0 loss at Lazio.
Following the postponement of first-place Juventus’ match with Parma on Tuesday, Milan (13-4-4) needed only a point to draw even. Lazio (11-4-6) went ahead on Hernanes’ goal in the 76th, and Tommaso Rocchi scored in the 85th as Lazio beat Milan in the league for the first time in 14 years.
Juventus (12-0-8) leads with 44 points, followed by Milan (43), Udinese (41), Lazio (39) and Inter (36).
Milito scored in the 22nd minute, converted a penalty in the 55th, then added goals in the 61st and 68th for Inter (11-7-3).
France
Marseille reached the League Cup final for the third straight season, defeating Nice 2-1.
Loic Remy scored in the 16th minute, Anthony Mounier tied it in the 44th and Brandao put Marseille back ahead in the 57th at Stade Velodrome.
