Lionel Messi missed a penalty Wednesday as Barcelona was held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves dived to his left to stop Messi's 56th-minute spot kick after Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara had been fouled inside the area. Valencia made a better start at its Mestalla stadium and scored first when Jeremy Mathieu sent a pass between Barcelona defenders for Jonas to rifle the ball into the top corner of goal in the 27th. The visitors equalized eight minutes later when Carles Puyol headed a corner past Diego Alves, who was caught out of position on Cesc Fabregas' inswinging cross. The Spanish champions, who lost the domestic cup final to Real Madrid at the Mestalla in April, still hold the edge ahead of next Wednesday's return leg at the Camp Nou thanks to the away goal. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola accepted the European champions were lucky to escape with the draw, while Valencia's players were upset with the referee in a week in which their opponents have expressed their unhappiness with the officiating this season. Athletic Bilbao leads third-tier club Mirandes 2-1 in the other semifinal. The return leg is at San Mames Tuesday. AC Milan wastes chance AC Milan wasted a chance to take the Serie A lead with a stunning 2-0 loss at Lazio Wednesday, while Diego Milito scored four goals in Inter Milan's 4-4 draw with Palermo under the snow at the San Siro. With Italian league leader Juventus' match with Parma Tuesday postponed due to snow, Milan needed only a point to draw level at the top of the table. It looked like the Rossoneri might get that single point with a draw until Brazil playmaker Hernanes struck for Lazio in the 76th. Lazio's 34-year-old captain, Tommaso Rocchi, added another goal in the 85th to seal the Roman club's first league win over Milan in 14 years. “We played an ugly match,” Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri said. Juventus still leads with 44 points, followed by Milan (43), Udinese (41), Lazio (39) and Inter (36). Udinese beat Lecce 2-1 with goals from newly signed Michele Pazienza and Antonio Di Natale. Elsewhere, Cagliari beat Roma 4-2 with two goals from Brazilian Thiago Ribeiro and one each from Mauricio Pinilla and Victor Ibarbo; and all Napoli could manage in a 0-0 draw at Cesena was a shot that hit the post from Edinson Cavani.
