Espanyol 3 - Villarreal 1

Espanyol: Argensó; Navas, Lopo, Rotchen, Ricardo Cavas (David García 55'); Alex Fernández, Paulo Sousa (Morales 65'); Martín Posse, Pacheco (Palencia 70'), De Lucas; Tamudo. 4-2-3-1.
Villarreal: López Vallejo; Galván (Xavi Roca 46'), Quique Alvarez, Ballesteros, Arruabarrena; Galca, Cagna (Palermo 46'); Guayre (Quique Martín 75'), Jorge López, Calleja; Víctor. 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Espanyol: Rotchen, Ricardo Cavas, Alex Fernández, Pacheco for Soldevilla, David García, Morales, Palencia / Villarreal: Galván, Cagna for Berruet, Amor.

Goals:
1-0. 08. Pacheco. Beat keeper from close up after Posse headed ball across.
2-0. 25. Tamudo. Turned past keeper after cross in from Pacheco on right.
3-0. 77. Palencia. Headed into net from long Alex free kick from left.
3-1. 89. Arruabarrena. Low shot across keeper after free kick from left.

Espanyol have an outside chance of taking seventh place and qualifying for next season's UEFA cup after beating a poor Villarreal 3-1. They are now only two points behind Málaga and Bilbao and four below Alavés, although they do have a difficult programme ahead, with games against Valencia and Barcelona coming up. Paco Flores made four changes to the side that lost at Deportivo, with Soldevilla suspended but Alex Fernández returning from his one match ban. Víctor Muñoz decided to leave Palermo on the bench for another week despite his contribution to their victory over Celta seven days ago. The game started well for the home side, and they took the lead when Posse and Pacheco both beat a badly worked offside trap, the former heading across a high through ball by Sousa to set up his strike partner. The two then combined a quarter of an hour later for Pacheco to lay the ball across the area, and Tamudo had the easiest of tasks finding the net for his fifteenth of the season. The young team captain had promised his manager at the start of the season that he would reach that figure, and his good recent form could still win him a place in Camacho's world cup squad.

Villarreal had not even had a sniff at goal in all the first half, and Víctor decided it was time to bring on Palermo. For a few minutes they improved, and Arruabarrena, Jorge López and Calleja all had a go at Argensó's goal. At the other end López Vallejo did well to block a point blank effort from Tamudo, but Palermo could have put his side back in the game if he had been more on target with a couple of efforts soon afterwards. It was Espanyol though we scored again with a quarter of an hour to go, substitute Palencia getting ahead of the defence to head home a long free kick from Alex Fernández. The visitors did finally get a consolation goal in the last minute when Arruabarrena's half hit shot from Galca's free kick beat Argensó, but the defeat takes them back to within two points of the relegation zone, and with a difficult visit to Barcelona next week they will have a battle to stay up. Espanyol are safe for another year, but their plans for Europe took a knock when Posse picked up an injury late in the game which will keep him out to the end of the season. Their president Daniel Sánchez Llibre was reelected unopposed for another five years on the morning of the match, and he will shortly have to decide if Paco Flores stays on for another year. On today's showing he should.