Eurosport - Mon, 10 Nov 09:51:00 2008
Early goals from Giuseppe Rossi and Joseba Llorente earned Villarreal a 2-1 home win against Almeria to put them second in La Liga.
Almeria were the last team to beat Manuel Pellegrini's side in the league back in April, and Villarreal have extended their unbeaten run to 16 between last season and the current campaign.
Italian forward Rossi scored inside the first minute with a long-range shot and his strike partner Llorente netted from a Robert Pires cross soon after.
Almeria's Argentine teenager Pablo Piatti pulled one back in the second half.
Barcelona are top with 25 points from ten games, one ahead of Villarreal, after hammering Valladolid 6-0 at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Champions Real Madrid scrambled a 4-3 comeback win at home to Malaga on Saturday and are third with 23 points, three ahead of Valencia, who visit Getafe in Sunday's late game.
Atletico Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw at struggling Osasuna, and had France goalkeeper Gregory Coupet to thank for saving a first-half penalty. They are seventh with 14 points.
It was Osasuna new coach Jose Antonio Camacho's first point since taking the helm four matches ago, but they remain without a win this season.
Fernando Llorente's last-minute header saved Athletic Bilbao and their coach Joaquin Caparros from a sixth consecutive defeat, grabbing a 3-3 draw away to Real Mallorca, having trailed 3-1 with 11 minutes to go.
Getafe 0-3 Valencia
Valencia's Portugal midfielder Manuel Fernandes broke the deadlock with a fierce drive midway through the first half and Getafe had striker Roberto Soldado sent off for head-butting Carlos Marchena just before the break.
Valencia were always in control from there on and Joaquin volleyed the second, before Vicente broke away to net the third in the second half.
Sevilla 1-0 Recreativo Huelva
Sevilla's Mali striker Frederic Kanoute rose to head home a Jesus Navas cross midway through the second half.
Kanoute had a later penalty saved by Asier Riesgo and the home side endured a nervy finale before ending a run of four straight defeats in all competitions.
Deportivo Coruna 1-0 Espanyol
Depor's Mexican forward Andres Guardado smashed a low volley inside the near post after a well-worked move just before the break, and home striker Rodolfo Bodipo hit the woodwork in the second half.
Numancia 2-4 Real Betis
Numancia's Javier del Pino scored when Betis keeper Castro Espinosa failed to collect a cross, but the visitors levelled when Cameroon midfielder Achille Emana netted a penalty.
Two goals in a minute just before halftime - a header from Juanito and a long-range shot from Turkey midfielder Mehmet Aurelio - turned the game round.
Jose Barkero pulled one back on the break for the home side but Aurelio made sure Betis took all the points with another shot from outside the area near the end.
Osasuna 0-0 Atletico Madrid
Osasuna were seeking their first win this season but missed the chance to take the lead when Gregory Coupet saved Javier Portillo's first-half penalty. Atletico improved after the break but a point did little for either side's campaigns.
Racing Santander 1-0 Sporting Gijon
Racing grabbed their first home win this season when Mohamed Tchite's shot deflected off a Sporting defender and into his own net in the second half.
The reverse ended a run of four straight wins for promoted Sporting.
Real Mallorca 3-3 Athletic Bilbao
Mallorca's Brazilian midfielder Cleber Santana looped in a header but Bilbao drew level before the interval when Andoni Iraola scored a penalty following a handball.
Mallorca's Venezuela forward Juan Arango scored with two impressive strikes, but Bilbao came back at the end.
Ion Velez made it 3-2 and Fernando Llorente headed the equaliser in the last minute to end a run of five straight defeats for the Basques.
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