Lopez fires Atletico into final

Atletico Madrid's Adrian Lopez celebrates a goal against Valencia during their Europa League semifinal second leg soccer match at Mestalla stadium in Valencia.

Atletico Madrid's Adrian Lopez celebrates a goal against Valencia during their Europa League semifinal second leg soccer match at Mestalla stadium in Valencia.

Published Apr 27, 2012

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Valencia - Adrian Lopez scored with a fizzing volley to earn Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win at La Liga rivals Valencia which eased them into the Europa League final 5-2 on aggregate on Thursday.

Atletico, who won the first leg 4-2, survived a first-half siege at a noisy Mestalla, but the hosts were unable to breach the visiting defence.

On a counter-attack in the 60th minute Diego found Adrian wide of the area and, after the ball bounced, the Spanish youth international struck a spectacular shot inside the far post.

Atletico had midfielder Tiago sent off 11 minutes from time, but Diego Simeone's side hung on to make their second Europa League final in three seasons. - Reuters

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