Ruben header sends Villarreal third
Reuters - Sunday 20 March 2011, 22:25
MADRID - Marco Ruben's header put
Villarreal up to third in La Liga with a 1-0 win at Athletic
Bilbao on Sunday, after Valencia fell to a solitary Ivan Rakitic
strike in a pulsating encounter with Sevilla.
Having impressed in qualifying for the Europa League
quarter-finals by beating Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday,
Villarreal appealed more to their battling qualities to move up
to 54 points with nine games left.
They took possession of the last automatic Champions League
qualification place as Valencia dropped down to fourth on goal
difference.
Unai Emery's side have now lost their last two league games
since being knocked out of Europe's elite club competition.
Bilbao slipped further off the top four in sixth with 42
points, one behind a fading Espanyol who fell 2-0 at lowly
Malaga.
On Saturday, leaders Barcelona moved on to 78 points after
beating Getafe 2-1 at home, maintaining their five-point lead
over title rivals Real Madrid who won 2-1 at derby rivals
Atletico Madrid.
An industrious Borja Valero created the opening for Ruben to
score at Bilbao after 58 minutes, the Argentine striker powering
a superb header beyond Gorka Iraizoz.
Villarreal clearly tired as the second half progressed, but
for all Bilbao's pressure they could not find a way past
visiting goalkeeper Diego Lopez.
Valencia and Sevilla played at a frenetic pace at Mestalla
with both sides hitting the woodwork twice and it was a surprise
a goal did not arrive until the 70th minute.
Croatia midfielder Rakitic pounced on a loose ball to fire
Sevilla ahead but they also had to thank goalkeeper Javi Varas
for pulling off a string of spectacular saves.
Sevilla, who drew 1-1 with Barca last week, are seventh with
42 points but below Bilbao because of an inferior head-to-head
record.
VIGO SACKED
At the foot of the table, Jose Rondon scored twice to boost
Malaga's bid for La Liga survival in a 2-0 home win over
Espanyol.
The Venezuelan striker made the most of a defensive error to
net early on and finished off a flowing attacking move in the
26th minute to make it two wins from two for Manuel Pellegrini's
outfit.
Malaga climbed to 18th in the standings with 29 points, one
point from safety, ahead of Almeria and Hercules who both lost
to stay on 26 points.
Free-falling Hercules hit the foot of the standings after a
4-0 thrashing at home to Osasuna, a fourth straight defeat,
which saw their coach Esteban Vigo sacked.
Almeria are 19th due to a superior head-to-head record after
losing 1-0 at Sporting Gijon.
In other games, Racing Santander's Mexican forward Giovani dos Santos, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, slid in to grab the
decider in a 2-1 home win over Real Sociedad and Ruben Suarez's
last-minute free-kick gave Levante a 1-0 win at Deportivo
La Coruna.