Valencia Back In Fourth Spot

Published: 19 Apr 2009 - 20:09:00

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Two late goals gave Valencia an impressive 3-1 victory over 10-man Sevilla and guided them back to fourth in the Primera Liga. Julien Escude put the visitors ahead after nine minutes before David Villa equalised from the spot on the stroke of half-time after Juan Mata was fouled. By this time Sevilla were down to 10 men as Claro Adriano Correia was dismissed for a professional foul on Villa. The game appeared to be heading for a draw until Fernando Navarro handled the ball and Juan Mata converted the resulting penalty before Hernandez Pablo rounded off the win with an incisive shot. Villarreal missed a great chance to move back into the top four on Sunday as they were held to a goalless draw at 10-man Real Valladolid in the Primera Division. Manuel Pellegrini's side had an extra man for the last half an hour after Inaki Bea was sent off for the hosts, but they were unable to make their numerical advantage count in the final stages. Bea's dismissal also resulted in a penalty for the visitors, but Giuseppe Rossi missed the spot-kick and Valladolid held on after that to secure a point which means they are now all but safe, having reached the magic total of 40 points with seven rounds of the championship still remaining. Alvaro Negredo struck twice, including an 89th-minute winner, to earn Almeria a potentially crucial 2-1 victory over fellow relegation rivals Osasuna. Negredo is without doubt the jewel in Almeria's crown and if, as expected, the former Real Madrid forward leaves the club this summer then at least his goals now look set to keep the Andalusian outfit in the top flight. His brace on Sunday took his league tally to the season to 19 - exactly half Almeria's total - but more importantly it helped his side move seven points clear of the drop zone. Hugo Sanchez's troops were fully deserving of their victory, outscoring Osasuna 16-0 on corners and making visiting goalkeeper Roberto work overtime in the second half, but they left it late to take the points after Walter Pandiani had left them stunned with an 84th-minute leveler. Espanyol moved off the bottom of the Primera Liga for the first time in six weeks and gave their chances of survival a big boost with a 1-0 victory at home to Racing Santander. Ivan Alonso's goal 12 minutes into the second half was enough for the Barcelona-based side in a one-sided match at Montjuic and moves the Catalans provisionally to within four points of safety with seven games remaining. Barcelona remain six points clear at the top of the table following a 1-0 away success at Getafe on Saturday night. Lionel Messi got the winner in the 19th minute to keep up the Catalans' quest to regain the title from arch rivals Real Madrid. The men from the Bernabeu were also in action on Saturday as they scraped a narrow 1-0 win from a trip to Recreativo Huelva. Brazilian full-back Marcelo was the hero for Juande Ramos' side as he struck four minutes after half-time to keep the capital giants in the hunt for domestic glory. Atletico Madrid jumped up to fourth place with a comprehensive 3-0 home success over second-from-bottom Numancia. Substitute Eber Banega broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute before Diego Forlan doubled the advantage on 79 minutes and Simao netted a last-gasp third. Malaga stayed in seventh after being held 1-1 at home by Real Mallorca. Antonio Apono put the hosts ahead in the 53rd minute but Juan Arango netted six minutes later to give Mallorca a share of the spoils. Eighth-placed Deportivo La Coruna closed the gap thanks to a 1-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao. Nunez Pablo Alvarez scored the winner with four minutes to go and Bilbao's night then got even worse when Javier Martinez was shown a red card after the final whistle.