UEFA Cup, quarter final first leg

Villarreal 1 - AZ Alkmaar 2

Villarreal are on the verge of being knocked out of the UEFA cup after losing their first leg match against Alkmaar. Pellegrini's side had gone eighteen home matches in Europe without letting in a single goal, but they were caught out in the twelfth minute when Landzaat beat Reina from the edge of the area. Riquelme equalised almost immediately though after Figueroa set him up, and the Argentine midfielder should have had a second when Figueroa won a penalty later in the first half. However Timmer guessed correctly, and dived to save his spot kick. And with the Spaniards throwing everything forward, Nelisse struck the winner for the Dutch side ten minutes from the end to give them a big advantage for next week's second leg. (07.04.05)