Valencia fire, Nilmar double

Valencia swept aside Osasuna 3-1 away with a trio of impressive goals to move back into the Champions League places in La Liga on Sunday.

David Villa kept up his great scoring run.

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Spain striker David Villa set them on their way with his ninth of the campaign, acrobatically prodding home Carlos Marchena's lob over the defence in the 12th minute.

David Albelda and then Marchena both scored from outside the area with superb shots, and Osasuna, although they pulled one back through Masoud midway through the second half, finished in disarray with nine men on the pitch.

Brazil striker Nilmar scored twice to lead Villarreal to a 3-1 home win over Real Valladolid that moved them up to 11th in La Liga on Sunday.

The in-form Nilmar, who scored in Brazil's recent friendlies against England and Oman, headed the opener after seven minutes and looped in a second header just after the restart. Italy's Giuseppe Rossi made it 3-0 before Diego Costa pulled one back for the visitors, but Ernesto Valverde's side continued their steady climb up the table after being rooted to the bottom last month.

Real Mallorca maintained their 100% record at the Ono Estadi with a 3-1 victory over Almeria, but it needed two late strikes from Victor and Gonzalo Castro, who bagged his second of the game, to secure all three points. Mallorca are sixth with 20 points.

Getafe struck two late goals to beat Espanyol in the Primera Division and get the better of the Catalans once again after recently knocking the Barcelona-based outfit out of the Copa del Rey.

Espanyol were keen to gain revenge following that cup exit and had most of the play in this match, but the Catalans were unable to avenge that disappointment with goals and Getafe took all three points thanks to strikes from Francisco Javier Casquero and Pedro Rios in the last 12 minutes.

Xerez remain rooted in the Primera Division relegation zone following a goalless home draw against Sporting Gijon. Both sides hit the woodwork twice, the hosts through a Sidi Keita shot and an Antonito header and the visitors through an early Jose Angel free-kick and a Miguel de las Cuevas blast. But neither team could find the target and the sides left with a point each which means Xerez remain second from bottom while Sporting stay seventh.

Malaga continue to prop up the Primera Division standings after playing out a fiery draw with fellow strugglers Real Zaragoza in a match which saw both teams finish with 10 men. Zaragoza took the lead just after half-time when substitute Ewerthon slotted home from the penalty spot but Malaga salvaged a point thanks to debutant Ivan Gonzalez's towering header in the 74th minute.

In between those two goals, both teams lost a player to early baths, with Zaragoza defender Javier Paredes picking up his second yellow card in the 59th minute and Malaga centre-back Weligton following him two minutes later after being shown a straight red. On top of those dismissals, there were also nine other yellow cards in a match that threatened to boil over towards the end.