Spanish international David Villa went from hero to villain as Valencia? away-day blues continued with a 1-1 draw at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
Villa scored his 19th goal of the season on 24 minutes, but was then sent off in the 76th minute, collecting a second booking for a late challenge on keeper Daniel Aranzubia.
Deportivo? Adrian Lopez punished the 10-man visitors, equalizing three minutes later. Valencia had lost their last five away league matches, but the draw will still frustrate manager Unai Emery with his team now two points behind fourth-placed Villarreal.
PHOTO: AFP
New Numancia coach Jose Rojo Martin ?acheta?had a forgettable debut as his side lost 2-0 at Osasuna in a vital bottom of the table clash.
Goals from Jaroslav Plasil and Masoud Soleimani sealed victory for Osasuna to keep them out of the relegation zone, while Numancia are rooted to the foot of the table, four points from safety.
Pacheta replaced the sacked Sergio Kresic this week and had a real baptism of fire with a relegation battle against Osasuna.
PHOTO: AFP
Espanyol? surprise 2-1 win at Barcelona on Saturday had lifted them off the bottom at Numancia? expense, so the pressure was on.
Osasuna coach Jose Antonio Camacho, a former manager with Real Madrid and Spain, said in the build-up that this was his most important match since taking charge in mid-October and the hosts had a flying start with Plasil scoring after two minutes.
Soleimani grabbed a second in the first half and Numanica, who beat Barcelona 1-0 on the opening day of the season, had no response.
?he good results bring more confidence, but we are doing the same amount of work as two months ago, only now we are getting a bit of luck,?Camacho said.
Cup semi-finalists Real Mallorca stay third from bottom despite a last gasp 1-0 win over Racing Santander, with Jose Jurado scoring an 88th minute penalty.
Malaga were expected to be fighting for survival following their promotion last season, but are knocking on Europe? door following a 3-1 victory at Valladolid.
?e will see what we are going to play for after the next few matches,?Malaga coach Antonio Tapa said.
Malaga have tough games coming up against Barcelona, Sevilla, Real Madrid and Villarreal.
Spanish La Liga
?/td>
| Team | P | GD | PTS |
1 | Barcelona | 24 | 51 | 60 |
2 | Real Madrid | 24 | 27 | 53 |
3 | Sevilla | 24 | 11 | 44 |
4 | Villarreal | 24 | 6 | 41 |
5 | Valencia | 24 | 9 | 39 |
6 | Malaga | 24 | 6 | 39 |
7 | Atletico Madrid | 24 | 13 | 36 |
8 | Deportivo La Coruna | 24 | -2 | 36 |
9 | Athletic Bilbao | 24 | -3 | 31 |
10 | Valladolid | 24 | -4 | 30 |
11 | Racing Santander | 24 | -3 | 29 |
12 | Getafe | 24 | -2 | 28 |
13 | Almeria | 24 | -8 | 28 |
14 | Sporting Gijon | 24 | -23 | 27 |
15 | Recreativo Huelva | 24 | -13 | 26 |
16 | Real Betis | 24 | -6 | 26 |
17 | Osasuna | 24 | -5 | 24 |
18 | Mallorca | 24 | -16 | 24 |
19 | Espanyol | 24 | -16 | 21 |
20 | Numancia | 24 | -22 | 20 |
?/p>
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