Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Villa stars as Spain signal intent
SPAIN
Villa 20, 44, 75, Fàbregas 90+1
4-1
RUSSIA
Pavlyuchenko 86




A scintillating hat-trick from David Villa gave Spain a clear-cut 4-1 victory over Russia in their first outing at UEFA EURO 2008™ and confirmed the immense power of the Valencia CF striker's partnership with Fernando Torres.

Thrilling match
In a high-quality Group D encounter, Russia provided moments to indicate that Luis Aragonés's side may still be vulnerable at the back and gained consolation with Roman Pavlyuchenko's 85th minute header. But Villa's second goal, in particular, was a stunning team move which may already be one of the goals of the tournament. Only the seventh player in this tournament's history to score three in a game, the 26-year-old's treble is the first since Patrick Kluivert's against Yugoslavia eight years ago. Villa then utterly stamped his class on the match, crossing for Xavi Hernández to volley and substitute Cesc Fabregas to head in the fourth in stoppage time.

Unerring finish
Torres has always asked for quick supply of the ball at international level and in the 20th minute he got it. Courtesy of a Joan Capdevila interception and a notable right-footed pass from the left-back, the Liverpool FC striker was left one on one with his marker. Torres used good upper body strength to put Denis Kolodin under immense pressure and when the Spaniard skipped clear he allowed Igor Akinfeev to try and dive at his feet before slipping the ball to the right, into the path of Villa who finished unerringly. Such was the drama of the match that within seconds Russia nearly equalised. Their love of overlapping full-back play had already caused havoc in the jumpy Spain back line, but instead of Aleksandr Anyukov this time it was Dmitri Sychev whose right-wing cross drifted, agonisingly, across Carles Puyol, Marcos Senna and even Iniesta before Zyryanov cracked the ball off the post.

Second goal
Instead of daunting Spain it seemed as if the players in red took their luck as an indication that this was their night. Within six minutes of Villa's first goal, he and Torres had created three clear goal chances - two of which needed smart blocks by Akinfeev. Russia, for their part, were fighting like terriers to impose themselves, repeatedly catching Andrés Iniesta in possession, and Roman Pavlyuchenko even hit the bar with a left-footed shot though referee Konrad Plautz had already called a foul. Villa closed a sparkling 45 minutes with Spain's second, however, following a brilliant move. Zyryanov attempted an ambitious pass across the Spanish box and David Silva ran to retrieve it. The lightning-quick passing movement through Silva, Capdevila and Iniesta left Villa sprinting into the box where he slipped the ball between Akinfeev's legs.

Russian response
The introduction of Vladimir Bystrov for Sychev made an impact as Russia sought a way back. Guus Hiddink's team pushed forward relentlessly and Bystrov's header from Zyryanov's cross in the 51st minute brought Iker Casillas into action before Diniyar Bilyaletdinov shot narrowly wide eight minutes later. However, Spain were irrepressible. Fabregas came on for Torres as Aragonés sought to rest his striker and give the Arsenal FC man a taste of the action. Villa almost had his hat-trick in the 66th minute but was prevented by a superb Anyukov tackle, yet the Valencia CF striker did not have to wait much longer. With 15 minutes left, he turned Shirokov inside out and finished expertly with his right foot. It was just that Russia's commitment to attack won some reward. Zyryanov, culpable for the second goal but Hiddink's best player on the night, took a corner which Shirokov nodded on and Pavlyuchenko headed in at the back post. Even then Villa had the last word, creating Spain's fourth and Fabregas's first for his country.

Me squall at 2:04 AM