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A second-half header by David Navarro gave Valencia a 1-0 win at Malaga in La Liga.

The defender, who was once banned for six months for breaking Internazionale's Nicolas Burdisso's nose in a post-match brawl, arrived at the far post to meet Pablo Hernandez's right-wing cross.

A first half of cat-and-mouse saw Valencia take more of the initiative and create the better chances, while Malaga looked useful on the break.

David Villa went close in the second minute when his angled drive took a deflection off Milan Stepanov and hit the near post, while two minutes later the Spain striker's looped header was tipped over by Gustavo Munua.

Munua was on hand to save when a goalmouth scramble saw Pablo Hernandez, Juan Manuel Mata and David Silva all have pops on goal, while Hernandez drilled just wide of the far post when Mata found him on the left.

Victor Obinna was a thorn in Valencia's side though, and forced a good stop from Cesar Sanchez with a far-post header, while he almost met a Duda cross that Albert Luque put wide.

The second half saw the pace of the game slow down, which suited Valencia's patient passing ploy.

Silva drilled wide one time and forced Munua to save another, while Villa lobbed just over after Milan Stepanov played a suicidal back-pass.

Los Che took the lead on 69 minutes when Navarro headed past Munua after a spell of incessant pressure.

Silva went close to a second but the latter stages saw Malaga nearly grab an equaliser when Obinna rattled the crossbar with one effort before firing straight at Cesar when put clean through.

Valencia held on for the win which puts them above Mallorca in fourth.

Sporting Gijon's Diego Castro cancelled out Lassad's opener as Deportivo were held to a 1-1 draw at the Riazor.

On 69 minutes Castro rounded Daniel Aranzubia to finish and give the visitors a share of the spoils in a match the hosts really should have won.

Depor had a big penalty appeal rejected in the second minute, when Riki raced clear of Gregory in the Sporting defence but was clearly brought down by Juan Pablo in the visiting goal only for the referee to signal a goal kick.

Juan Rodriguez had a low shot deflected just wide, while Lassad missed a sitter, mis-hitting his finish embarrassingly high when he bustled past the Sporting defence to go one-on-one with Juan Pablo.

Riki sent a brilliant spinning volley off the crossbar at the midway point of the first half and it seemed only a matter of time before the hosts took the lead.

But as the match hit a lull, it was 20 minutes before they would have another chance, although they made this one count.

A Sergio free-kick from around 35 yards out and Rodriguez flicked a superb header off the underside of the bar, which landed the right side of the line for Sporting but was bundled into the roof of the net by Tunisia striker Lassad.

They continued in a similar vein in the second half, with Riki almost back-heeling his side 2-0 up, while Lassad went close to a second.

But as the match went on, Sporting gained confidence and a shot wide by Castro and a close-range header straight at Aranzubia from David Barral should have served as warnings to Depor.

Castro made them pay for their wastefulness when he sprung the offside trap, rounded Aranzubia and stroked the ball home to gain parity for his side.

Within seconds Lassad had the ball in the back of the net, but he was ruled offside, while for the visitors Castro, Luis Moran and Vidic all had chances from close range in one goalmouth scramble.

With 11 minutes left Lassad had the final good chance of the match but headed Andres Guardado's cross over, and the match fizzled out to a draw which puts both sides just outside the automatic Europa League qualification slot, with Depor sixth and Sporting seventh.

Villarreal romped to a 5-0 victory at home to promoted Tenerife, adding weight to the belief that they are finally turning the corner after their poor start to the La Liga campaign.

Ernesto Valverde's side, who only registered their first league win against Malaga last weekend, were quickly in front at the Madrigal when Joseba Llorente (pictured) battled through to score early on.

Robert Pires, Giuseppe Rossi and Llorente again scored in quick succession just after the break, and Cani arrived at the back post to net the fifth at the end.

Villarreal climbed to 13th with nine points from nine games.

Champions Barcelona continue to top the standings with 23 points despite being held to a 1-1 draw away to Osasuna on Saturday, Gerard Pique scoring an own goal in the last minute.

Real Madrid are a point back in second after a Gonzalo Higuain brace earned them a 2-0 home win over Getafe with 10 men, and Sevilla are third with 19 points having seen off Andalucian rivals Xerez 2-0.

Cameroon striker Pierre Webo earned Mallorca their fifth consecutive home win in a 1-0 victory over Racing Santander.

Reda Maher / Reuters