Villarreal close on stuttering Valencia
Sunday, May 1, 2011
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Third-placed Valencia CF suffered a second consecutive defeat as they slumped 1-0 at CA Osasuna, allowing Villarreal CF to move within three points after their 2-1 win against Getafe CF.
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Third-placed Valencia CF's advantage over Villarreal CF has been cut to three points after they succumbed 1-0 at CA Osasuna and the Yellow Submarine edged out Getafe CF 2-1.
Osasuna had lost their previous four league games to slide into the bottom three but they belied their position as Álvaro Cejudo claimed a deflected winner just before the hour to lift them above the drop zone.
Villarreal also fell behind in their game when Pedro Ríos (31) struck for Getafe but, despite having Thursday's UEFA Europa League semi-final decider against FC Porto in mind, Juan Carlos Garrido's men recovered to win thanks to Cani (61) and Giuseppe Rossi (74).
Getafe dropped into the bottom three as a result, but two other struggling sides boosted their survival odds with victories. Júlio Baptista scored twice, taking his tally to five in his last three games, as Málaga CF beat second-bottom Hércules CF 3-1, and Real Racing Club overcame RCD Mallorca 2-0. Lastly, Sevilla FC rose to fifth after Renato scored the only goal at ten-man UD Almería.
