Valencia-Athletic draw in Copa first leg

Trying to make their third straight Copa del Rey final, Athletic Bilbao were held to a 1-1 draw at home against Valencia in the first leg of the semi-finals.

Raul Garcia opened the scoring for the hosts on Thursday with a header off a free kick by Iker Muniain in the 37th minute, but Valencia equalised in the 65th with a goal from close range by Hugo Duro off the rebound of a shot by Bryan Gil.

The second leg will be on March 2 at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium.

Real Betis rallied to a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano in the first leg of the other semi-final on Wednesday.

Athletic lost to Basque Country rivals Real Sociedad in the final in 2020 and to Barcelona in the decider last season. They are the competition's second most successful club with 23 titles, behind Barcelona's 31, but haven't lifted the trophy since 1984.

Athletic have been one of the hottest teams in Spain recently under coach Marcelino Garcia Toral, after eliminating Barcelona in the Copa's last 16 and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

They are unbeaten in five matches in all competitions with their last loss against Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, after eliminating Spanish champions Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.

Athletic were outplayed by Valencia in the beginning of Thursday's match at San Mames Stadium but gradually regained control and were the most dangerous team the rest of the match, though unable to capitalise on scoring chances.

Athletic sit eighth in the Spanish league, three spots ahead of Valencia, who are trying to return to the Copa final after winning their eighth title in the competition in 2019.

Valencia have been winless in their last five in the Spanish league.