Villa thriller sinks Swedes

Viva Vila : David Villa celebrates his late winner against Sweden last night. -ink[tm]

David Villa was again Spain's hero as his injury-time goal earned Luis Aragones' men a last-gasp win over Sweden in the battle between the top two teams in Group D in Innsbruck.

Villa, fresh from his hat-trick in the 4-1 midweek triumph over Russia, netted his side's winner deep into injury time to help Spain move within touching distance of a quarter-final spot with two victories from two.

There appeared little danger as Spain left-back Joan Capdevila pumped a long ball down the wing, but Villa showed tremendous anticipation, speed and skill to pick up possession, cut inside marker Petter Hansson before coolly slotting past Andreas Isaksson for the clincher.

That goal saw Villa win his second man-of-the-match award for the tournament, helped Spain extend their unbeaten run to 18 matches, and also left a huge impression on Aragones.

Spain took the lead through Fernando Torres in the 15th minute but Zlatan Ibrahimovic levelled things up in the 34th minute with a goal that looked set to earn Sweden a share of the points.

However, Villa had the final word with his late strike to give Spain a three-point haul that Aragones felt they deserved in the end.


VIVA VILLA!