Swansea suffer Europa League setback

Swansea were made to wait on qualification for the knockout stages of the Europa League after a narrow defeat by Spanish side Valencia.Daniel Parejo slotted home after Gerhard Tremmel’s weak punch to avenge the 3-0 defeat in Spain in September.Alvaro Vasquez came close to clinching a draw for the hosts, but his shot was cleared off the line by Jeremy Mathieu.The Swans now need a point from their visit to St Gallen on 12 December to be sure of qualification.But they could still qualify even if they lose in Switzerland, provided Kuban Krasnodar do not beat Valencia in their final game.A draw would have been good enough to see Swansea into the last 32 after Kuban Krasnodar’s 4-0 home win over St Gallen.

However, the defeat means Swansea may yet pay a high price for the two added-time equalisers they conceded against Krasnodar earlier in the tournament.They also face being without top-scorer Wilfried Bony for several weeks after the striker injured a hamstring just before half-time.On a chaotic evening at the Liberty the Swans finished the game with 10 men after defender Angel Rangel limped off late in the game with all three substitutes already used.And they had to play six minutes with 10 men earlier in the half while a blood-free shirt was sought for Jordi Amat after he came off the field with a cut head.Swansea caused an early scare for Diego Alves in the Valencia goal who looked vulnerable under the high ball, but then fell behind thanks to a an error by their own goalkeeper in the 20th minute.

Swansea suffer Europa League setback