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Valencia reclaimed fourth place in La Liga with a 3-1 victory over 10-man Sevilla at the Mestalla, while Villarreal slipped up at Valladolid.

The visitors took the lead through Julien Escude's early header but the game turned on the dismissal of Sevilla left-back Adriano for a rash challenge on David Villa just before the break.

Villa himself pulled Valencia level just minutes later after Juan Mata was brought down by Escude in the penalty area and the referee was given little option but to point to the spot.

Despite their man advantage, Valencia struggled to find a way through a resolute Villarreal defence and they had to wait until the 83rd minute for a breakthrough when they were awarded a second penalty.

This time, in the absence of the substituted Villa, Mata (pictured) stepped up to fire home after Fernando Navarro had inexplicably handled in the box.

Substitute Pablo Hernandez completed the scoring deep into injury time to give the scoreline a more emphatic feel.

The result saw Los Che leapfrog Atletico Madrid into the final Champions League spot and move three points clear of both the capital club and Villarreal, who were held to a goalless draw at Real Valladolid earlier in the day.

Sevilla remain in third, five points ahead of Valencia.

In Valladolid, Villarreal's chances of returning to the Champions League next year suffered another setback.

Manuel Pellegrini's side, dumped out of this season's competition at the quarter-final stage when they lost 3-0 to Arsenal during the week, were short on ideas.

The hosts lost defender Inaki Bea to a red card for a foul in the area early in the second half, but Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi put the penalty over the crossbar and they failed to make the extra man count.

It was their third league match in a row without a win. Villarreal stay sixth on goal difference with 49 points, behind Atletico Madrid, who beat Numancia 3-0 on Saturday.

Barcelona continue to lead the standings by six points from champions Real Madrid after both sides won away on Saturday.

Barca have 78 points with seven games to go, after winning 1-0 at Getafe, while Real were 1-0 victors at Recreativo Huelva.

In the battle to avoid relegation, an Ivan Alonso header earned Espanyol a 1-0 win at home to Racing Santander that dragged them off the bottom.

They climbed one point above Numancia into 19th, and are one short of Recreativo and four points from safety.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport / Reuters