Athletic Bilbao 0 - Valencia 3

Athletic: Lafuente; Lacruz (Tiko 71'), Ustariz, Luis Prieto, Casas; Iraola, Orbaiz, Murillo (Arroyo 85'); Yeste; Urzaiz, Llorente (Dañobieta 66'). 4-4-2.
Valencia: Cañizares; Miguel, Ayala (Marchena 89'), Raúl Albiol, Moretti; Albelda, Baraja; Angulo, Regueiro, Hugo Viana (Mista 72'); David Villa (Edu 88'). 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Athletic: Llorente for Amorebieta / Valencia: Moretti, Hugo Viana for Carboni, Fabio Aurelio.

Goals:
0-1. 81. David Villa. Ran on to long ball to shoot inside Lafuente's near post.
0-2. 84. David Villa. Picked up loose ball in area and rounded defender to score.
0-3. 86. David Villa. Collected short pass from Mista to score from close up.

Second placed Valencia kept their slim hopes of catching Barcelona alive after beating Athletic Bilbao 0-3 on Sunday evening. The Basque side were desperate for points to move away from the danger zone, and they were on top for much of the match. Urzaiz hit the post with a long shot before the break, Cañizares pulled off a string of saves after the restart, in particular from Urzaiz, Llorente and Iraola, and Orbaiz shot just wide. But David Villa popped up to force his way past two defenders and put his side ahead ten minutes from the end, and then added two more in the next five minutes to complete a hat-trick. The striker is now only two goals behind Samuel Eto'o in the race for league's top scorer.