Villarreal suffer Sevilla setback
07 Apr 2008 - 09:38:18
Villarreal's recent surge up the La Liga table ended when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at revitalised Sevilla on Sunday.
Goals from Luis Fabiano and Fredi Kanoute condemned Manuel Pellegrini's men to a disappointing defeat at the Sanchez Pizjuan and they now trail leaders Real Madrid by seven points.
The Yellow Submarine ended the game with ten men when, deep into stoppage time, Joan Capdevila was handed his second yellow card for deliberate handball.
Meanwhile, Barcelona's wretched recent run continued as they were held to a goalless draw by mid-table Getafe at Camp Nou. Barca hit the woodwork three times and remain third in the table, behind Villarreal on goal difference.
Atletico Madrid are fourth after beating nine-man Almeria 6-3 in an amazing match. Almeria had Ruben Pulido and Juanito dismissed in a game which also saw seven goals in an incident-packed first half.
Antonio Lopez, Diego Forlan and Simao Sabrosa (two) all scored for Atletico before the break while Felipe Melo, Juanma Oritz and Alvaro Negredo all found the net for Almeria.
Sergio Aguero grabbed a second-half brace for Atletico as the hosts wrapped up their 16th victory of the campaign.
Valencia remain in relegation danger after losing 1-0 to Real Murcia, Ivan Alonso's first-half strike proving decisive, while Real Betis won 3-0 at Real Zaragoza thanks to a Mark Gonzalez brace and Mariano Pavone goal.
Deportivo La Coruna eased their drop fears by beating Racing Santander 3-1 while Joseba Garmendia scored the only goal of the match as Athletic Bilbao beat Espanyol.
Rock-bottom Levante slumped to a 3-0 home defeat to Real Valladolid - Joseba Llorente, Victor and Borja all netting for the visitors.