BRADFORD — Fourth-tier Bradford pulled off another major surprise in the League Cup Tuesday, beating Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their semifinal to move one step away from the club's first major final since 1911. Bradford followed up its stunning win over Arsenal on penalties by holding its own against another Premier League club, taking a 2-0 lead after goals from Nahki Wells in the 19th and Rory McArdle in the 77th. Andreas Weimann gave Villa a valuable away goal in the 83rd but Carl McHugh restored the more comfortable two-goal cushion with a powerful header in the 89th. Villa can still turn things around at home, but is facing a much tougher task than expected after wasting a number of scoring opportunities against the League Two club. The second leg is at Villa Park on Jan. 22. “A draw would have been great — 3-1 is absolutely amazing,” Wells said. “We're buzzing. Ahead two goals, we just need to stay resilient.” Bradford's only major trophy is the 1911 FA Cup title, and it has struggled both financially and on the pitch since a brief stint in the Premier League between 1999-2001. In the other semifinal, Chelsea hosts Swansea. Valencia, Malaga through Valencia eased past La Liga rival Osasuna into the quarterfinals of the King's Cup Tuesday, while Malaga flirted with danger against third-tier Eibar before a flurry of late goals put them safely into the last eight. Valencia will play 2011 winner Real Madrid or Celta Vigo for a place in the semifinals, with Celta holding a 2-1 advantage from last month's last 16, first leg ahead of its visit to the Bernabeu. Malaga is facing a probable last-eight clash with holder Barcelona, which hosts Cordoba Thursday having won their first leg 2-0 at the second-division Andalusian club. Valencia recorded a 2-1 victory that sent it through 4-1 on aggregate. In the earlier kickoff at Malaga's Rosaleda stadium, Argentine midfielder Diego Buonanotte saved the Andalusian club from potential humiliation when he scored twice and created another in a 4-1 comeback win against lowly Eibar. Eibar had held Malaga to a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Lazio in last eight Two goals from Brazilian Hernanes saw Serie A title contenders Lazio reach the Italian Cup semifinals as it eased to a 3-0 win over mid-table Catania. Romanian defender Stefan Radu had headed Lazio into the lead and Hernanes struck twice to complete the tally. — Agencies
