MADRID, 7 February 2004 — A last-gasp strike from Brazilian forward Savio allowed struggling Primera Liga side Real Zaragoza to salvage a 1-1 draw at second division Alaves in a King’s Cup semifinal first leg on Thursday.
The former Real Madrid player slid in at the far post to guide in a clever pass from fellow striker David Villa a minute into injury time to leave the tie wide open ahead of next week’s second leg.
Alaves, who dominated for most of the game, had taken the lead in the 19th minute when Croatian striker Jurica Vucko nodded in at the near post after Ivan Alonso had headed the ball into his path.
But the sending-off of Alaves midfielder Jesus Angel Turiel 14 minutes from time for a second booking left the door open to Zaragoza, who scrambled their late equalizer in one of their few attacks.
In the other semi-final Real Madrid took a major step towards a place in the final after second-half goals from Santiago Solari and Raul gave them a 2-0 win at home to Sevilla on Wednesday.
Alaves, relegated last season but mounting a strong challenge for a return to the top flight, made an enthusiastic start in front of their own fans as they muscled Zaragoza out of midfield and launched a succession of slick attacks.
They got their reward when midfielder Edu Alonso swept in a cross from the right, Ivan Alonso nodded back towards the near post where Vucko was on hand to help it into the net.
They came close to extending their lead just before the half-hour mark when Ivan Alonso slammed a close-range volley onto the post following a looping pass from midfielder Pablo.
Lazio Beat Milan to Move Close to Final
In Milan, Lazio gave themselves a strong chance of reaching the Italian Cup final after beating holders AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro stadium in their semifinal, first leg on Thursday.
The result ended Milan’s run of eight straight wins in league and cup and with a goal lead and two away goals in the bag, Lazio will fancy their chances of making it through next Wednesday’s second leg in Rome.
Juventus and Inter Milan drew 2-2 in Turin in the other semifinal played on Wednesday.
Lazio took the lead after just 30 seconds thanks to a dreadful error from Milan keeper Christian Abbiati.
Abbiati, making a rare start in place of regular keeper Dida, made a hash of a backpass from Martin Laursen and his attempted clearance struck Stefano Fiore and ricocheted into the back of the net.
