Translated material
England - Spain
Valencia believes in success, while Deportivo hopes only for a miracle
The first round of the Anglo-Spanish confrontation in the quarterfinals of the Champions League ended in victory for the British clubs. But if Valencia, having lost away to Arsenal with a score of 1:2, retains significant chances of success, then Deportivo, having lost away to modest Leeds with a big score of 0:3, can say goodbye to hopes of continuing the fight .However, Deportivo head coach Javier Irureta is in no hurry to throw out the white flag. “There was a match in which, losing to Paris Saint-Germain with a score of 0:3, we managed to snatch a 4:3 victory,” the Spaniards’ coach recalled the meeting of the previous stage of the League. - Even though we have a stronger opponent now, we shouldn’t forget that we will have more time. After all, we had moments in this match too. In the last 20 minutes we just had to score, but we were unlucky.” Indeed, Deportivo played the end of the match very powerfully. But Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martin was excellent in holding on to the lead created by the efforts of Ian Hart, Alan Smith and Rio Ferdinand. Thus, Leeds went from being a dark horse, which few dared to bet on winning, to becoming the favorites of the Champions League. According to London bookmakers, Leeds' odds are rated at 5 to 1. Only Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are rated higher, bets on which are accepted at a rate of 11 to 4.
Despite the fact that Valencia lost to Arsenal in the first leg of the quarter-finals, this Spanish club retains a real chance of reaching the next stage of the League. But the Valencia players could already solve this problem on the road. After the guests opened the scoring through the efforts of Ayala, hardly anyone doubted the victory of the Spanish club. However, Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger brought on a third striker, Sylvain Wiltord, on the field in the second half. And although he himself could not score, this replacement revived the British attacking formations and allowed them to turn the tide of the match. “I took a risk by releasing a third striker,” Wenger admitted after the meeting. - But what could I do? We were losing and something had to be changed. This strong-willed victory should help us believe in ourselves and make it to the semi-finals.”