Europa leads for Atletico and Sporting

Atletico Madrid moved a step closer to their second Europa League final in three years as two goals from Radamel Falcao and further strikes from Miranda and Adrian Lopez gave them a 4-2 win over Spanish rivals Valencia in their semi-final first leg.

Adrian set up Falcao for the easiest of headers to open the scoring on 18 minutes but Valencia gained a foothold in the game and equalised in first-half stoppage time as Jonas swept home Adil Rami's knockdown.

However, 2010 Europa League winners Atletico scored twice in nine minutes through Miranda and Adrian, before Falcao looked to have all but sealed Atletico's place in the final in Bucharest with a sensational strike. Ricardo Costa headed home with virtually the last touch of the game to give Valencia some hope heading into the return leg at the Mestalla.

Copyright (c) PA Sport 2012, All Rights Reserved.