Iberia dominates the Europa League.

Well it's into the Semi-Finals for the Europa League contestants remaining as Valencia defeated AZ Alkmaar 4-0 in Spain to finish an impressive comeback after going down 2-1 in the Netherlands. Adil Rami had a fantastic night as he struck not once but twice before the 20th minute of the match to give the Spanish side a 2-0 lead in the match. Jordi Alba added a third in the 56th minute before Pablo Hernandez made it 4-0 in the 80th minute. Despite the one-sided scoreline, AZ actually fared pretty well in match statistics, keeping pace though they were out-played at the final result. Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao remain in the competition after hard-fought 2-2 draw with German side Schalke 04 in Spain. Klaas Jan-Huntelaar gave the Germans an early lead just before the half hour mark before Ibai Gomez made it 1-1 with his 41st minute strike. Raul Gonzalez made it 1-2 in the 52nd though, only for the defense to allow Markel Susaeta to drive one home 3 minutes later. On now to Hannover's disaster of a match against Athletico Madrid who really had their way with their German hosts. Already down 1-2 going into the match, Hannover proceeded to waste the 1st half of the match and allow Adrian Lopez to give the Spanish side the lead in the 63rd minute. It took them a while but eventually the Germans returned fire, in the 81st minute through Mame Biouf. Falcao made it 1-2 again for Athletico and so ended the opportunities for German opposition in the Europa League. Last but not least, Metalist hosted Sporting Lisbon in Ukraine for what was a very close contest. Only 1-2 up going into the match, the Portuguese needed at least a goal and a strong defense. They were able to muster for exactly that. Ricky Van Wolfswinkel slotted home for Sporting in the 44th minute to give them a slender lead into half-time. Jonathan Cristaldo tied things up in the 57th minute though, but the match really hinged on the fact that Metalist's captain Cleiton Xavier was unlucky enough to miss his 64th minute penalty opportunity that would have given his side the lead and possibly the impetus to go on and win the tie. Instead, Xavier missed and Sporting go on to the Semi's. As for the match-ups there, Atletico Madrid will face Valencia while Sporting will play Athletic Bilbao. Forecast for those games? Valencia really should win the former while the latter is more up for grabs though I'll predict Sporting will have the spirit to make it through. Look for the games!