Villarreal, Valencia keep pace at the top

Source: Agencies  |   2008-11-11  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

VILLARREAL and Valencia both won to keep pace with leader Barcelona and champion Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday.

Early strikes from Giuseppe Rossi and Joseba Llorente earned Villarreal a 2-1 home victory against Almeria, and Valencia saw off 10-man Getafe 3-0 away with goals from Manuel Fernandes, Joaquin and Vicente.

Barca is top with 25 points from 10 games, one ahead of Villarreal, after hammering Valladolid 6-0 on Saturday.

Valencia has 23 points and moved above Real Madrid into third on goal difference. The champion scrambled a 4-3 comeback win at home to Malaga on Saturday.

Villarreal's Italian forward Rossi scored inside the first minute at the Madrigal with a stunning 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.

The visitors were the last team to beat Manuel Pellegrini's side in the league back in April but Villarreal was able to extend its unbeaten run to 16 between last season and the current campaign.

Valencia midfielder Fernandes thumped a first-time shot inside the near post to break the deadlock in a scrappy game at the Coliseum.

Getafe lost striker Roberto Soldado to a foolish red card just before the break and it was one-way traffic from there on as Joaquin and Vicente both scored well-worked goals.

Sevilla is fifth with 20 points after Mali striker Frederic Kanoute returned from injury to score the only goal in a 1-0 home win over Andalucian rival Recreativo Huelva.

Atletico Madrid was held 0-0 at bottom club Osasuna, and had goalkeeper Gregory Coupet to thank for saving a first-half penalty. It slips to seventh on 14 points, one short of Deportivo Coruna, which beat Espanyol 1-0.