Alvaro Negredo struck in stoppage-time as stuttering Valencia won 2-1 against his former club Sevilla on Sunday to earn coach Pako Ayesteran victory in his first home game in charge since succeeding Gary Neville.
Villarreal improved their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in five years by beating relegation-threatened Getafe 2-0, while Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 against Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and RC Celta de Vigo beat Real Sporting de Gijon 1-0.
Daniel Parejo’s deflected free-kick in the 41st minute opened the scoring for Valencia, who had not won in La Liga since March 2, but Kevin Gameiro leveled with four minutes remaining.
Photo: AFP
However, Negredo restored the home side’s advantage a minute into stoppage-time, denying former Valencia coach Unai Emery a happy return to the Mestalla.
“The players, club and fans showed responsibility throughout the week. The victory belongs to all our supporters, our fans were incredible today,” Ayesteran told a press conference. “We aren’t fighting for the league, we’re fighting for a dignified end to the season and it’s difficult, so I’d give a 10 out of 10 to my players, and 11 out of 10 to the supporters.”
Fourth-placed Villarreal beat struggling Getafe to move on to 60 points, eight above fifth-placed Celta, their nearest challengers for Champions League qualification.
Photo: EPA
A brilliant piece of skill and a low finish into the bottom corner from Denis Suarez put Villarreal ahead in the 15th minute.
Top-scorer Cedric Bakambu bundled the ball in from close range for his 19th goal of the season in all competitions with five minutes remaining to seal the win.
Getafe, who are without a win in the league since Jan. 17, slumped to a 10th defeat in 12 games.
Bilbao responded to their UEFA Europa League quarter-final first-leg defeat to Sevilla on Thursday last week by beating struggling Rayo thanks to a goal by Inaki Williams.
The 21-year-old rattled a shot from the edge of the penalty area in off the crossbar in the 61st minute to put Athletic ahead, although Rayo had the better chances over the 90 minutes.
In the day’s early kickoff, Celta boosted their hopes of qualifying for Europe by beating Sporting 1-0 thanks to a solitary strike in the 64th minute by Spain international Nolito.
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