Sevilla scored twice in the second half to win 2-0 at Elche and climb into second place in La Liga after RC Deportivo de La Coruna beat Valencia 3-0 to hand the visitors their first defeat of the season on Sunday.
Sevilla took control of a drab match with goals by Carlos Bacca and substitute Kevin Gameiro to move past third-placed Real Madrid and Valencia, up to within three points of leaders Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid brushed aside RCD Espanyol 2-0 to extend their unbeaten home streak in the league to 24 matches and sit behind Valencia in fifth place on goal-difference.
Photo: EPA
The eighth round left five points separating the league’s top five sides before Barcelona visit Madrid next weekend in the first Clasico of the season.
Also on Sunday, striker Ikechuwku Uche scored once in each half to lead Villarreal to a 2-0 victory at home over UD Almeria, lifting them into sixth place.
Bacca recorded his team-high sixth goal of the campaign in the 59th minute when he put in a rebound off of teammate Gerard Deulofeu’s free-kick.
Photo: AFP
Gameiro went on in the 61st and 12 minutes later raced forward to head in Denis Suarez’s well-placed cross to secure the points for Sevilla.
“We didn’t play well in the first half because we weren’t playing as a group, but in the second half we corrected those errors,” Sevilla coach Unai Emery said. “If they had done something more in the first half we would have been in trouble.”
However, Elche never threatened and fell into the relegation zone with only one win.
Deportivo entered the weekend in last place after losing four straight games. In need of a victory, first-year coach Victor Fernandez revamped his starting XI with several changes.
The decision worked and Deportivo outplayed Valencia throughout, pressuring up the pitch and never letting the midfield connect with striker Paco Alcacer.
Haris Medunjanin almost put Deportivo ahead with a free-kick that hit the crossbar and bounced off the back of goalkeeper Yoel Rodriguez’s head, before falling outside the upright, but the resulting corner gave the hosts the lead in the 36th minute when the ball eventually went in after ricocheting off Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi, the bar and fellow defender Jose Gaya’s arm.
Lucas Perez scored Deportivo’s second goal in the 43rd minute to cap a perfect debut for his hometown team at the age of 26. Striker Ivan Cavaleiro headed the ball on for the forward to fire in off the far post.
Valencia manager Nuno Espirito Santo made two changes at halftime, but the closest his team came to scoring was Antonio Barragan’s deflected pass that hit the post, before Deportivo substitute Jose Toche put the result beyond doubt on the counterattack in the 79th minute.
“We had a bad day,” Espirito Santo said. “When you see a game like this you have to sit down, work harder and be firmer. We have to respond in our next game. A team that wants to qualify for the Champions League can’t lose back-to-back matches.”
Atletico limited Espanyol to one shot on goal and earned 12 corners to just one for the visitors.
Goalkeeper Miguel Moya saved Espanyol’s sole chance by Lucas Vazquez in the 13th minute and midfielder Tiago Cardoso put Atletico ahead in the 43rd when he floated a header over goalkeeper Kiko Casilla from Gabi Fernandez’s pass.
Atletico have excelled at set-pieces under coach Diego Simeone and they finished off Espanyol from a corner in the 71st minute which was headed on by centerbacks Diego Godin and Jose Jimenez, before Mario Suarez tapped the ball in.
Atletico have scored 10 of their 14 league goals from set-pieces, with nine of their goals coming from headers.
“My team played the game they had to play, controlling the pace of the match and our rivals throughout,” Simeone said. “We attacked constantly and were patient until the first goal arrived, then dominated the second half.”
Espanyol’s first loss in five rounds left them in the middle of the table and they lost forward Sergio Garcia to an apparent leg injury.
Atletico Madrid’s last league loss at the Vicente Calderon was in May last year.
Uche scored from rebounds in the 23rd and 59th minutes for Villarreal.
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