BARCELONA - Xavi struck deep into stoppage time to earn Barcelona a draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.
David Villa gave Ronald Koeman's side the lead in a rare Valencia attack after 69 minutes and it seemed that goal would see Los Che return to the Mestalla with a slender advantage.
But Xavi pounced with a late, late strike to even things up - a goal Barca certainly deserved on the balance of chances.
Barcelona should have gone 1-0 up in the seventh minute but were denied on three occasions.
First Xavi was denied by keeper Timo Hildebrand, then Samuel Eto'o's follow-up was blocked by Raul Albiol.
Finally the ball fell to Lionel Messi, but the Argentinian's effort was cleared by Marco Caneira.
At the other end, Joaquin had the ball in the back of the net with a neat flick, but the referee's whistle had already gone for an earlier offside.
Gabriel Milito found himself unmarked in the Valencia box after 15 minutes but volleyed over the angle of post and bar.
Ten minutes before the break, Eto'o's low cross-cum-shot from the left just eluded the reach of Thierry Henry.
Five minutes after the restart some swift one-touch football from Henry and Deco put Messi through, but his shot was stopped by Hildebrand.
Eto'o played in Messi just before the hour mark and the Argentinian cut inside and shot from an acute angle, but Hildebrand saved.
Hildebrand had to be on his guard again to keep out Eto'o's effort in the 67th minute and Messi was booked as he went over chasing the rebound.
Valencia went ahead with their first legitimate effort of the game.
Subsitute Javier Arizmendi's low cross from the right found Villa and he turned home from close range under pressure.
Barca huffed and puffed but struggled to create any real chances until stoppage time.
Eto'o strode through the Valencia defence but was denied by the onrushing Hildebrand.
The ball, though, went straight to Xavi, whose first-time effort snuck into the far corner to earn Barca a draw.
