Renato Dirnei's goal helped Sevilla stumble past 10-man Villarreal and leapfrog their visitors to go third in La Liga.
Sevilla 1 - 0 Villarreal
Renato's goal at the end of the first half gave Sevilla a deserved 1-0 victory over Villarreal goal at decided the end in a one-sided encounter at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Renato's goal, which came just seconds before the break, was a well-deserved reward for the home team's work at the end of a dull first half - though the goal when it came had more than a hint of offside about it.
From a corner it looked as if Villarreal had cleared the danger, but Escude headed the ball back to Kanoute, who seemed on the replay to be behind the defence at the time.
Kanoute controlled the ball for the onrushing Renato - also seemingly in an offside position at the critical moment - and the Brazilian dinked a little chip around Lopez's outstretched legs.
It was a pretty finish, and well deserved on the balance of play against a side which scarcely troubled the Sevilla defence from start to finish.
It took the second-half dismissal of Villarreal striker Joseba Llorente, and the subsequent reshaping of the team, to ever make the visitors look like scoring as several counter-attacks presented half-chances for Cazorla and Senna.
Yet as the 10-man side pressed for an equaliser they left gaps at the back that were exploited ruthlessly by Adriano Correia, Sevilla's Brazilian left-winger, who looked relentlessly dangerous throughout.
Adriano found himself unmarked and alone nine yards from goal on 72 minutes, and blasted a drive for what everyone in the stadium though must be the goal to confirm the result.
Everyone, that is, except Lopez in the Villarreal goal. The man who frustrated Manchester United so artfully in this year's Champions League encounters once again wore his magic gloves, saving several shots that looked like nailed-on certainties to lead to goals.
For their part, Sevilla were wasteful of both possession and opportunities. Given their domination of the match - 26 shots to four - they should have won by two or three goals, but time and again the final ball was either too long or too ill-placed for the attackers to latch on.
In the end, Villarreal just didn't have enough legs to compensate for their missing person, and Sevilla stumbled to a one-goal victory that leapfrogs them over their visitors into third place in La Liga.
Atletico Madrid 2 - 0 Real Betis
Atletico Madrid won a spirited contest against Real Betis thanks to goals from Maxi Rodriguez and Sergio Aguero that puts them ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid in La Liga.
The match got off to an inauspicious start for Betis, who very nearly gifted their hosts two goals in the opening couple of minutes with a collection of defensive mix-ups that almost let first Diego Forlan then Sergio Aguero to score.
Once they settled in, however, Betis gave Atletico a great game of football that could have gone either way. Sergio Garcia was their chief tormentor, time and again running into space that gave him opportunity to shoot.
But it was Atletico who made the best of the ball when they had it. Forlan and Maniche both had great chances, and then on 20 minutes the home side went ahead through a brilliant piece of quick-thinking football.
Aguero played a through ball to a fast-running Maxi Rodriguez, who controlled the ball brilliantly on his chest before smashing a perfect drive into the bottom right corner.
The two coaches patched up the previously open defences at half-time, resulting in a tighter match with fewer chances. Betis went close twice through 'Juanma' Sanchez, but Atletico held on with plenty of men behind the ball and playing on the break.
Their tactic bore fruit on 81 minutes as Aguero latched on to Forlan's quick through ball on the counter.
The 20-year-old made no mistake in beating Casto Espinosa on the right. It gave the home side a flattering but ultimately deserved second goal that put the result beyond any doubt.
Athletic Bilbao 3 - 0 Sporting de Gijon
Fernando Llorente put the home side in front from the penalty spot after only five minutes before Andoni Iraola doubled the lead in the 22nd, scrambling in at a corner.
David Lopez met Fran Yeste's pinpoint cross with a far post volley for the third in the 31st.
Getafe 4 - 1 Mallorca
Getafe's Nigeria striker Ikechukwu Uche won a dubious penalty which Cosmin Contra converted after 15 minutes, but there was no doubt about Uche's goal in the 31st when he broke clear to finish with a cool lob.
Mallorca pulled one back two minutes later through Aritz Aduriz from close range, but late goals from Manu del Moral and Jaime Gavilan made sure of Mallorca's third consecutive defeat.
Malaga 2 - 0 Numancia
Malaga dominated but failed to breach the visitors' defence until they were awarded a questionable penalty in the 85th minute, which Apono put away.
French striker Nabil Baha broke from the halfway line to make sure of the points at the end.
Valladolid 3 - 0 Deportivo La Coruna
Jonathan Sesma tipped in Pedro Leon's cross after 15 minutes and Pedro Lopez caught out visiting keeper Daniel Aranzubia from 40 metres with a spectacular looping shot in the 25th.
After the break, Valladolid's Fabian Canobbio had a shot pushed onto the post but soon after Leon made it 3-0, dribbling down the right wing and firing into the far top corner to crown an impressive display.
Recreativo Huelva 1 - 0 Osasuna
Osasuna had a string of chances as they chased their first away win and midway through the second half striker Dady rounded the keeper only to shoot wide of the empty goal.
Huelva earned their first home win six minutes from time when Adrian Colunga raced through to shoot low into the corner.
Almeria 1 - 1 Racing Santander
Racing took the lead after 33 minutes when Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay drilled a shot in the top corner from 25 yards.
Almeria's Peruvian defender Santiago Acasiete smashed a superb volley just under the bar to level in the 62nd, easing the pressure on his coach Gonzalo Arconada. Santander had Mehdi Lacen sent off near the end.
source : www.yahoo.com
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