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Match round-up - First Division, Day 12

Villarreal consolidated fourth spot in the table after a late 0-1 victory over local rivals Elche on Monday night. Despite the result it was a lively game between the two newly promoted teams, the visitors having the better of the first half even though the best chance fell to the home side when Manu del Moral rattled the crossbar. After the interval local keeper Manu Herrera pulled off top class saves from Mario, Bruno and Jaume Costa, with Rubén Pérez and Botía firing shots just over the bar at the other end. But with the game in the last minute Hernán Pérez crossed in from the left wing, and Jonathan Pereira's half-hit shot fell kindly for Uche to turn the ball past the keeper. (04.11.13)

Atlético Madrid are not letting up this season, and a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday afternoon keeps them within a point of leaders Barcelona. A win for the visitors would have seen them move up in to the top four, but it was one way traffic from start to finish, Iraizoz having to save twice from David Villa and Diego Costa shooting just wide before Villa opened the scoring with a volley which took a deflection off a defender. Shortly before half time Costa ran on to Koke's through ball to make it two, and after the break Iraizoz had to be at his best to keep out Filipe Luis, Villa and Costa. With twelve minutes to go the Basque team were left with ten men when Erik Morán picked up a second booking, and although Muniain finally managed a first shot at goal for them after that, Raúl García wasted a great chance to add to the scoreline in the closing minutes.

Getafe failed to take advantage however, Luis García's side staying in sixth spot after a 0-1 defeat against Valencia on Sunday lunchtime. Only a great save by Diego Alves prevented Ciprian Marica from heading the opening goal, but soon afterwards the keeper limped off and had to be replaced by Guaita. A few minutes later though Paco Alcácer headed a Barragán cross against the bar, and Banega fired an effort over the top before Pabón unleashed an unstoppable shot from outside of the area which flew in to the top corner of the net. The locals had the better of the second half, Guaita keeping out Pedro León and Escudero, and Lisandro López, Diego Castro and Escudero all failing to hit the target, but the Ches held fast for a win which takes them to within three points of their opponents in the table.

Valencia's city neighbours Levante lost to Granada by the same scoreline later in the day, a last minute strike by Piti giving the Andalusians the three points. Visiting keeper Roberto got off to a shaky start, dropping an early cross but then recovering to save from Diop, and midway through the first half he kept out an el Zhar penalty after Iturra tripped the ex Liverpool midfielder in the area. Bounanotte brought a good stop out of Keylor Navas at the other end and then fired another effort just wide, but after the restart the locals were on top, Roberto stopping shots from Babá and El Zhar and referee Clos Gómez waving away two penalty appeals. With the game in the closing minutes it was the turn of Navas to save point blank from an El-Arabi header, but Piti finally beat the Costa Rican keeper with a long free kick to give his side their second away win in a row.

Granada stay a point above Málaga, who beat regional rivals Betis 3-2 to leave Pepe Mel's side down in the bottom three. Santa Cruz headed the locals in to the lead at the second attempt with just under a quarter of an hour gone, but Verdú equalized with a well struck free quick some twenty minutes later. There was a scare when Perquis had to be taken away in an ambulance after a clash of heads with Fabrice left him unconscious (later diagnosed as a fractured jaw), but a few minutes after play resumed Portillo put Eliseu through for him to restore the lead. Two minutes later Jordi Figueras made it all square again with a glancing header from a long Juan Carlos free kick, and either side could have scored after that, Vadillo going close a couple of times and Andersen having to save from Juanmi. However with the game in the third minute of time added on Portillo's shot ballooned off Jordi Figueras on to the bar, and Samuel was on hand to volley home the rebound. (03.11.13)

Real Madrid stay in touch with the leaders after a 2-3 win against city neighbours Rayo Vallecano on Saturday evening, although they almost threw it away in the end. Ancelotti's side got off to the best possible start, Ronaldo running on to Modric's pass to ghost past Gálvez and curl a shot past Rubén to open the scoring in only the third minute. And although Iago Falqué had a goal disallowed after his shot hit Jonathan Viera in an offside position, Benzema headed in Bale's cross to make it two with just over half an hour gone. When Ronaldo turned in another Bale cross some three minutes after the restart the game appeared to be over, but five minutes later Pepe tripped Viera inside the area, and the ex Las Palmas and Valencia flanker stepped up to fire home the resulting spot kick. Two minutes after that a header from Larrivey came back off the crossbar, and in the resulting play Marcelo gave away a second penalty on Alberto Bueno, which Viera also tucked away. And in the following minutes Paco Jémez's side threw everything forward, Diego López having to push a shot from Bueno on to the post, and Embarba going close a couple of times. Rubén did have to save a couple of late efforts by Ronaldo however, and in the end Rayo fell to another defeat which left them down at the bottom of the table by the end of the day.

Earlier in the afternoon Real Sociedad thrashed regional rivals Osasuna 5-0 to move up to seventh in the table. Iñigo Martínez headed a Chory Castro corner wide before his fellow centre back Ansotegi got on the end of a long Rubén Pardo free kick to head in the opener with just over half an hour gone, and just two minutes in to the second half Iñigo headed a Rubén Pardo corner past Andrés to make it two. Osasuna's best effort was another header wide by Loties after the restart, but the French centre back got himself sent off for bringing down Vela as he advanced on goal, and soon afterwards Griezmann headed the third after Andrés could only push over an inswinging corner from Pardo. Griezmann had a strike ruled out for a borderline offside after that, but with ten minutes to go Castro made it four after picking up a pass from Seferovic, and six minutes later Seferovic completed the scoring after Agirretxe played the ball on with his heel for José Angel to cross in from the left wing.

Almería clocked up their second win in a row, beating Valladolid 1-0 to climb above Rayo off the bottom of the rankings. Francisco's side were full of confidence after beating Valencia midweek, and they had the better of the early play, Soriano getting the ball in the net only for the strike to be ruled out for a previous foul. With seven minutes to go to the break, Suso crossed in from the left, and although Rodri's dive left him short for a header, he stuck out an arm and punched the ball in to the net. Surprisingly though neither referee Muñiz Fernández nor his linesmen saw the infraction, and the goal was allowed to stand. After the interval Aleix Vidal, Verza and Azeez all tried their luck with long shots which Mariño dealt with easily, but the visitors barely managed an effort on target, and any hopes they had of saving a point ended when their best man Ebert was sent off after picking up a rigorous second yellow card with fifteen minutes to go.

A 0-1 victory as well for Celta at Sevilla in the last match of the day, a result which takes the Galicians to within a point of their hosts in the table. Curiously the two matches that Luis Enrique's side have won this season were both in Andalucía, and once again they started well, Beto having to save from Charles and Santi Mina going close a couple of times. Bacca and Augusto Fernández both had penalty appeals turned down, but two minutes after the restart a distracted Beto passed the ball straight to Alex López, who gratefully fired it back in to the net. After that the locals pushed forward, M'Bia heading a corner against the post and Vitolo and Gameiro also having penalty claims refused, but the visitors held on for three important points which takes them clear of the danger zone. Another blow for Unai Emery though, and with the home fans booing their players off the pitch, the coach needs to pull things together quickly if he is to stay in his job much longer. (02.11.13)

The week twelve fixtures kicked off on Friday evening with the city derby between Barcelona and Espanyol, Tata Martino's side running out 1-0 winners to take their tally this season to 34 points out of a possible 36. Despite putting out an all-star line-up, the locals found it hard going against a well organized defence, and their first real chance didn't come until shortly before the break, when Dani Alves fired a shot against the upright. Before that only a quick reaction by Víctor Valdes prevented Víctor Sánchez from poaching a goal after Alves let him through, and although the visitors didn't spend much time in their opponents' half, they were always dangerous on the breakaway. After the restart however Barça started to find the gaps, Casilla having to save a header from Messi and Neymar curling a shot wide before Neymar slotted the ball between the legs of two defenders for Alexis to score from a yard or so out. Messi went close a couple of times after that and Pedro came up against Casilla, but Sergio García and Lanzarote could also have scored at the other end. Three more points for the leaders, but Espanyol left the Nou Camp with their honour intact. (01.11.13)